Trainer Magazine, European Edition, issue 67 - October - December 2019

ISSUE 67 – OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2019 £6.95 ISS www.trainermagazine.com

QUARTER RLY MAGAZINE MAGAZINE FOR FOR T HE TRAINING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT DEV THE QUARTERLY THE OF THE THOROUGHBRED

CATHRINE ERICHSEN Norway’s leading lady

ARE WE GOING SOFT ON OUR HORSES?

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN EUROPEAN RACING

BLEEDERS – THE FACTS, FICTION AND FUTURE DIRECTION

| OPINION |

GILES AN DERSON PUBLISHER’S OPINION

athrine Erichsen is by far the most winning female trainer in Norway and would be a great trainer to have profiled in the magazine”, so Liv Kristiansen, the very hands-on racing manager at Øvrevoll Racecourse in Norway told me earlier this summer - she wasn’t wrong.

Erichsen has quietly gone about her business building one of the most respected and prestigious barns on the Scandinavian circuit. On the three occasions she has sent her horses to race in the UK, she has found herself in the winners enclosure on two occasions. As Amie Karlsson found out when she interviewed Erichsen, there is a burning ambition to achieve at the highest possible level and this season has certainly been a fine one for one of the ten professional trainers based at the Oslo racecourse. Øvrevoll is what I would describe as a quaint racecourse.

It’s packed full of eclectic buildings and its management have a family focussed yet innovative vision plan for the future. Something that is apparent is their ideas to promote ownership in a country which is more focussed on harness than thoroughbred racing.

Norway is also the only ‘European’ country which doesn’t permit the use of the whip for encouragement. In fact, as Karlsson mentions, jockeys in races for three-year-olds and upwards aren’t allowed to use a whip at all and in other races whips can only be used for corrective measures. Some say that the tough stance on whip rules has led to the sport becoming more family-friendly and has also seen an increase in betting turnover as a result.

But this is something that not all professionals agree on.

Erichsen being one of them.

“I don’t like our rules at all. The rules indicate that the whip is a punishment or a form of abuse but that is not correct. The whip is used to give the horse a message. It has actually made it difficult to get foreign jockeys to Norway, because a lot of the professionals don’t like riding without it.”

Training horses in a country that has harsh winters is always going to be a challenge, but Erichsen takes it in her stride and perhaps it would be fair to say sees it as an advantage.

“In my opinion, our strong winters is one of the particulars with training horses in Norway, but it is definitely one of the benefits. The cold gets rid of a lot of bacteria, and the snow is one of the best surfaces you can train horses on. We use special shoes with studs which prevent the horses from slipping and snow rim pads that prevent snow packing into their feet. The track workers at Øvrevoll are great. They harrow the snow and make it into a nice training surface. It is smooth—and cold. What other surfaces are there that cool the horses’ legs whilst they train?”

That’s certainly food for thought as we edge slowly but surely towards winter.

But before then, wherever racing takes you this autumn – good luck!

C

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ISSUE 67 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| CONTENTS |

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CONTENTS F E AT U R E S 10 Cathrine Erichsen

Amie Karlsson talks to Norway’s leading female trainer.

22 Balancing act

Catherine Rudenko examines the Key considerations when reviewing what you feed and if you should supplement.

28 Bleeders

Dr David Marlin looks at the facts, fiction and future direction of the treatment of exerciseinduced pulmonary haemorrhages.

32 Sales assessment

Thomas O’Keeffe reports from the 2019 Gerald Leigh Memorial Lectures held in Newmarket this past July.

38 Are we going soft on our horses?

So asks Amy Barstow – looking at the impact on different types of surfaces commonly found in yards and on the racecourse.

46 News from the European

Mediterranean Horseracing Federation

Dr Paull Khan covers issues including;

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Diversity and inclusion in European racing, the dark art of race planning and the European Beach Racing Association.

54 Down Royal

Lissa Oliver talks to the new team in charge of Northern Ireland’s leading racecourse.

REGULARS 04 Contributors 06 ETF Members 08 VetSet Trainers

of the Quarter – David Simcock

80 Product Focus

60 Worms

Dr Corrine Austin and Prof. Jacqui Matthews share their thoughts on Planning a diagnosticled worm control programme.

64 Brexit update

Lissa Oliver brings us up to date on the latest developments in the Brexit saga and how individual countries are planning for October 31st (and beyond).

@t ra in er _m ag /t ra in er ma ga zi ne /t ra in er ma ga zi ne

70 Racing groom

Lissa Oliver talks to Shelley Perham about the work she is undertaking to engage racing grooms online.

76 Nutrients

Prof. John Hunter and Luca Cumani showcase the work they have undertaken to better understand how the digestion of nutrients may improve horses’ overall condition.

Visit trainermagazine.com to download the digital edition of this issue.

SA S ANTA ANITA PARK NO OV VEMBER 1 & 2

THE BEST

GR A B L IF E B Y T H E R E IN S BREEDERS’ CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-ENTRY CLOSES OCTOBER 21, 2019

Each Breeders’ Cup World Championships starter that travels from a location outside of California will receive a domestic $10,000 travel stipend OR an international $40,000 travel stipend. In addition, the ownership entity will receive six complimentary seats, a $1,500 hotel credit at an official participant hotel, VIP car transport to hotel from airport and complimentary VIP invitations to all official events. Purses and awards are over $30 million and each race pays down to the 8th finish position!

It’s time to take your place on the world stage, pre-entry for the 2019 Breeders’ Cup World Championships closes on Monday, October 21. For your copy of the Horsemen’s Information Guide, visit members.breederscup.com or email the Breeders’ Cup Racing department below.

Breeders’ Cup World Championships

14 Championship races • $30 Million in Purses and Awards November 1-2, 2019 • Santa Anita Park, CA November 6-7, 2020 • Keeneland, KY November 5-6, 2021 • Del Mar Turf Club, CA

PLEASE DIRECT INQUIRIES TO: 215 W. MAIN STREET, SUITE 250, LEXINGTON, K Y USA 40507 +1 859-514-9422 | FAX AX: +1 859-223-3945 E-MAIL: BCRACING@BREEDERSCUP.COM MEMBERS.BREEDERSCUP.COM

Editorial Director/Publisher Giles Anderson Sub-Editor Jana Cavalier Design ATG Media Advert Production Charlotte Fossey Circulation/Website Kerstin Coward / Anna Alcock Advertising Sales Giles Anderson, Anna Alcock Photo Credits: Alamy, Giles Anderson, Beaufort Educational Trust, Luca Cumani, Eclipse Sportwire, Equine Surgical Referrals,, Equisal, Florida Equine Veterinary Associates, Hesteguiden.com, Thea Hofossaeter, Martin Lole, Cathy McGlynn, Caroline Norris, Rossdales LLP, Shutterstock Cover Photograph Thea Hofossaeter

Trainer magazine is published by Anderson & Co Publishing Ltd. This magazine is distributed for free to all ETF members. Editorial views expressed are not necessarily those of the ETF. Additional copies can be purchased for £6.95 (ex P&P). No part of this publication may be reproduced in any format without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the European Union For all editorial and advertising queries please contact: Anderson & Co. Publishing Tel: +44 (0) 1380 816777 Fax: +44 (0) 1380 816778 email: info@trainermagazine.com www.trainermagazine.com Issue 67

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Corrine Austin, BSc(hons), PhD, graduated from University of Hertfordshire with a degree in Biological Sciences and later attained a PhD from University of Leeds.

Corrine is currently director of Austin Davis Biologics, where she oversees the company’s research and development programme into equine diagnostics.

Amy Barstow graduated from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in 2013 before undertaking an equine internship at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket. In 2015 she returned to the RVC to study for a PhD in the Structure and Motion Lab group. During her PhD Amy has undertaken a number of studies investigating the foot-surface impact in horses, which have been funded by the RVC Mellon Trust, the HBLB and the British Horse Society. Having grown up in Epsom, Surrey surrounded by horse racing she is keen that her research supports the health and performance of race horses.

Prof. John O Hunter MA MD FRCP AGAF was for many years a consultant at Addenbrookes Hospital Cambridge with a particular interest in nutrition both in gut diseases and sport medicine. Among his many patients were a number of Newmarket trainers and jockeys which lead to an interest in equine nutrition which he continues to research.

Amie Karlsson is passionate about the Scandinavian racing industry and works with communication and marketing at Svensk Galopp, the horseracing authority in Sweden. She is also a freelance journalist and photographer. Between 2016 and 2018, she was a trainee on Godolphin Flying Start, a management and leadership training program that specialises in the international Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry. Amie has also worked as an exercise rider in England and France and completed the British Horseracing Authority Graduate Development Programme as well as the National Stud Diploma Course.

Paull Khan PhD. is an international horseracing consultant. He is Secretary-General of the European & Mediterranean Horseracing Federation and Technical Advisor for Europe to the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.

His other clients include the British Horseracing Authority. Previously, Dr. Khan held many senior roles at Weatherbys, including Banking Director and Racing Director.

Tom O’Keeffe is a Partner at Rossdales LLP working with the Horses in Training Team. Tom was brought up on National Hunt stud farm in Waterford, Ireland and he has been based in Newmarket since 2014, having previously worked in Kentucky, Florida, Australia, and Ireland.

Lissa Oliver lives in Co. Kildare, Ireland and is a regular contributor to The Irish Field and the Australian magazine, Racetrack. Lissa is also the author of several collections of short stories and two novels.

Catherine Rudenko is an independent registered nutritionist with a focus on thoroughbreds. Based in the UK Catherine has worked in the USA, Europe and Asia with trainers and studs creating feeds and feeding plans customised to their needs and climate.

With a keen interest in education and research Catherine works with professional bodies and universities to promote knowledge of nutrition and its importance in the management of thoroughbreds and other breeds.

EUROPEAN TRAINERS’ FEDERATION AIMS and OBJECTIVES of the ETF:

a) To represent the interests of all member trainers’ associations in Europe. b) To liaise with political and administrative bodies on behalf of European trainers. c) To exchange information between members for the benefit of European trainers. d) To provide a network of contacts to assist each member to develop its policy and services to member trainers.

ETF REPRESENTATIVES Chairmanship: Guy Heymans (Belgium) Tel: +32 (0) 495 389 140 Email: heymans1@telenet.be

Vice Chairmanship:

Nicolas Clément (France) Tel: +33 (0)3 44 57 25 39 Fax: +33 (0)3 44 57 58 85 Email: entraineurs.de.galop@wanadoo.fr

AUSTRIA

Mrs Živa Prunk Tel: +38640669918 Email: ziva.prunk@gmail.com

CZECH REPUBLIC

Vice Chairmanship:

Treasureship:

Christian von der Recke (Germany) Tel: +49 (022 54) 84 53 14 Fax: +49 (022 54) 84 53 15 Email: recke@t-online.de

Michael Grassick (Ireland) Tel: +353 (0)45 522 981 Mobile: +353 (0)87 258 87 70 Fax: +353 (0)45 522 982 Email: office@irta.ie

HUNGARY

UNITED KINGDOM

Mr Botond Kovács Email: botond.kovacs@kincsempark.hu

ITALY

Rupert Arnold Tel: +44 (0) 1488 71719 Fax: +44 (0) 1488 73005 Email: r.arnold@racehorsetrainers.org

RUSSIA

Joseph Vana Tel: +42 (0) 6024 296 29 Email: horova@velka-chuchle.cz

Agostino Affe Email: affegaloppo@gmail.com

Olga Polushkina Email: p120186@yandex.ru

GREECE

NETHERLANDS

SLOVAKIA

Aggeliki Amitsis Tel: 30 229 908 1332+ Email: angieamitsis@yahoo.com

Geert van Kempen Mobile: +31 (0)6 204 02 830 Email: renstalvankempen@hotmail.com

GERMANY

NORWAY

Erika Mäder Tel: +49 (0) 2151 594911 Fax: +49 (0) 2151 590542 Email: trainer-und-jockeys@netcologne.de

Are Hyldmo Mobile: +47 984 16 712 Email: arehyldmo@hotmail.com

www.trainersfederation.eu

Jaroslav Brecka Email: jaroslav.brecka@gmail.com

SWEDEN

Caroline Malmborg Email: caroline@stallmalmborg.se

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GUARANTEED TO BLEED STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO REDUCE THE INCIDENTS OF BLEEDING

BY MARK HANSEN While bleeding from the nose in racehorses is uncommon, it is accepted that most every horse will experience some level of bleeding in their lungs. Even though this may only cause slight discomfort for the equine athlete, it is a trainer’s worst nightmare because it can lead to poor performance, lost training days, costly treatments, or worse — a very sick horse that’s banned from racing for life.

For one trainer, this is exactly the nightmare that happened to him. Suddenly not just one, but two of his best horses were bleeding from EIPH (Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage). They were in danger of being banned from racing, even though they were still in their prime. Lasix (Salix) wasn’t cutting it this time.

The trainer was at a loss. What can be done?

Facing these concerns for two of his horses, the trainer (who asked us to withhold his name for competitive reasons) was willing to try anything. So, he searched for another option.

He gave his horses an alternative to bleeder drugs and treatments; something he had read about called BleederShield. This natural respiratory horse supplement helps control bleeding. It is just as effective in improving the health and performance of bleeders but without any of those “drug issues” that come with most race-day bleeder medications.

“I used BleederShield paste on two horses that had been bleeding. Now, neither horse has bled. This is a great product; it saved the careers of two very good horses.”

The Science Behind BleederShield To understand how BleederShield works, we looked at a controlled study run by veterinarians at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.

They investigated the effects of the active ingredient in BleederShield, yunnan baiyao, which has been shown to help reduce bleeding in people and animals.

The veterinary team wanted to see how this active ingredient specifically affected bleeding in horses. They measured template bleeding times in horses before and after receiving a supplement with the active ingredient.

The researchers reported that the significantly supplement reduced bleeding time. They concluded that the active ingredient in BleederShield was effective at minimizing blood loss in horses.1 What surprised us the most about BleederShield is its effectiveness without the use of drugs. Having a drugfree option is critical in countries that ban most race-day EIPH medications.

And even though Lasix/Salix isn’t banned in the USA yet, its day may be coming. There’s a serious need NOW for a natural solution that can help control bleeding in performance horses.

Trainers and owners alike are impressed with the results they are seeing from BleederShield. One winning trainer told us: “I have horses that bleed and when I use this product I have no problems. I’m sure there are a lot of products on the market but I stand behind this one all the way.”

Now you can improve the health of your horses while protecting the investment in their racing careers.

With the results from the scientific studies, you can expect BleederShield to reduce bleeding events in horses during intense exercise… repair damaged blood vessels … and provide support for normal lung function and normal blood flow.2 Best of all, BleederShield is easy AND affordable. It could be the smartest investment you make to avoid pricey problems related to EIPH. It’s well worth the small price to avoid a banning risk or losing a great horse.

A company spokesperson confirmed an exclusive offer for Trainer Magazine readers: if you order BleederShield this month, you’ll receive 10% off your first order by using promo code TM10 at checkout. You can order BleederShield today at www.BleederShield.com.

1 2

Graham L. et al. J Vet Emerg Crit Care. 12:4 (2002) 279-282.

Graham L. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract. 2006.

care with confidence

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TRAINERS OF THE QUARTER

DAVID SIMCOCK The VetSet Trainer of the Quarter has been won by David Simcock.

Simcock will receive a large selection of VetSet premium veterinary products, as well as a bottle of artisan British gin.

Giles Anderson t the start of the year, David Simcock had a Derby in mind as a possible target for his for his exciting three-year-old prospect, Spanish Mission. But after a running ‘out of the points’ for the European Road to the Kentucky Derby, plans to run the son of Noble Mission in the ‘run for the roses’ were soon shelved.

Instead, a campaign was mapped out which would end up seeing Simcock’s star three-year-old compete in a

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 67

Eclipse Sportswire

relatively new Derby, The Jockey Club Invitational Derby, run in September at Belmont Park.

With an impressive course record time recorded when winning the Gp.3 Bahrain Trophy Stakes at Newmarket in July and followed up with a decent third in Goodwood’s Gp2. Qatar Gordon Stakes, the traditional route would be to aim for a shot of classic glory at Doncaster in the St Leger.

However, the New York race carried

a purse fund of $1,000,000 and being contested for just the second time, the race was ungraded. So a win would allow the horse to run back without a penalty.

Coupled with the fact that the horse’s owners - Earle Mack and Team Valor are both US-based, the trip to New York became the obvious route to follow.

The race itself wasn’t without drama.

Not only did jockey, Jamie Spencer endure a ‘troubled’ start but then turning for home, lost his right rein and

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GOING INTO THE FINAL TURN HE WAS GIVING ME ALL HE HAD. it was his urging that got him over the line in front. “Going into the final turn he was giving me all he had. I dropped my right rein and even though I was using the crop, when you drop your reins in a race, it typically signals to the horse that the race is over. I would’ve been mad with myself had we lost but he got back on his game and finished strong. He was a very game horse today’, reported Spencer.

But one stride before and one stride after (as the win photo shows) it was the runner up Pedro Cara who had his nose in front. Ironically, Earle Mack had nearly purchased Pedro Cara earlier this

year - what a bittersweet moment that would have been for Mack if Mauricio Delcher’s charge had prevailed.

Although now qualified for the Longines-sponsored Breeders’ Cup Turf in November, Spanish Mission won’t be

making the journey. 2020 looks set to be an exciting four-year-old international campaign with a likely first start in the Middle East in the spring and then the main target for the year will be to run in the Melbourne Cup next November.

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ISSUE 67 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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PROFILE

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 67

| CATHRINE ERICHSEN |

C AT H R I N E ER IC HS EN

With 400 winners and plenty of pattern-race successes to her name, Cathrine Erichsen is the most successful female trainer ever in Norway.

Amie Karlsson

T

Thea Hofossaeter, hesteguiden.com

his interview takes us to Oslo, or to be more precise, a 12-km drive northwest of the city center. Here, tucked away in a quiet residential area, we find Øvrevoll Galoppbane, the sole thoroughbred venue in Norway.

It is the end of August. Erichsen, an independent, charismatic woman with more than 400 winners under her belt, has just got back to routine again after the Norwegian Derby Weekend—the highlight of the Norwegian racing calendar a few days earlier. Øvrevoll is where Erichsen participated in her first amateur race, saddled her first winner and enjoyed her first black type success. Today, it is where she cares for a string of almost 25 thoroughbreds. Erichsen is one of ten professional trainers at Øvrevoll—there are twenty in total in the country—and she has her base in one of the barns on the backstretch.

She has been training for half her life, but the last four years have been particularly fruitful. In the last three weeks of August, she had won two Gp3 races in Scandinavia with two different horses.

In the middle of summer, Øvrevoll is a beautiful place.

Barns, outdoor boxes, lunge pits, paddocks and horse walkers are scattered around the backstretch and in the infield. It is charming and a little bit unpolished racing venue surrounded by mature trees, which provide green barriers between the racecourse and the adjacent villas.

Right now, November seems an eternity away, when freezing temperatures and just a few hours of daylight brings the racing season to a halt until the following April.

One would forgive a Norwegian racehorse trainer for complaining about the winters—even trainers living at latitudes far south of Norway tend to mutter and moan about the weather and training conditions of the winter months.

However, Erichsen’s view on training racehorses in Norway in the winter may come as a surprise.

She explains: “In my opinion, our strong winters is one of the particulars with training horses in Norway, but it is definitely one of the benefits. The cold gets rid of a lot of bacteria, and the snow is one of the best surfaces you can train horses on.”

“We use special shoes with studs which prevent the horses from slipping and snow rim pads that prevent snow packing into their feet. The track workers at Øvrevoll are great. They harrow the snow and make it into a nice training surface. It is smooth—and cold. What other surfaces are there that cool the horses’ legs whilst they train?”

Erichsen talks from experience. More than 35 winters have passed since she, for the first time, sat on a racehorse at the age of 12.

For a child growing up in Norway, horse racing may not be the first thing that springs to mind when given the opportunity to choose a hobby. But the young Cathrine liked horses, and a school friend happened to be the daughter of a racehorse trainer; and that is how Erichsen got acquainted with the racing industry.

It did not take long until her passion for horse racing was developed. When she turned 15 (the minimum age for race riding in Norway), she began a successful stint as an amateur rider.

“I was lucky to get the chance to ride in the Fegentri World Champion series for amateur riders. The race riding experience is a great benefit for me as a trainer, and I learnt a lot from riding in different countries.”

Despite the successful years as an amateur rider, Erichsen did not consider turning her hobby into a career. She had other plans in life and signed up for a degree in economics and marketing. For a while, her only connection to the racing industry was her riding horse, a retired racehorse.

“One day I needed to get hold of the farrier. I knew he would be shoeing in a stable at Øvrevoll that day, so I rang the trainer.”

The trainer answered, but before the phone was passed over to the farrier, Erichsen had found herself with a job.

“He asked if I wanted to come and ride out, and I thought ‘why not?’ I was studying and needed some money.”

What the economics student did not expect was that she, a year later, would have the sole responsibility for the stable.

“One day, after I had ridden out part-time for a year, the trainer told me that he had decided to retire from training.

He offered me to take over his yard. At the time I was 25 years old and quite fed up with school, so I thought it could be a fun thing to do for a while.”

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PROFILE

Being a trainer seemed quite easy, at least to start with.

A stable full of race-fit horses, well-established routines, several loyal owners and an experienced employee who knew the stable inside out. Erichsen was off to a head start in the game of racehorse training.

“It was great. I didn’t have much experience, of course, but I got everything served: here is a barn, here are 14 horses, here is the girl who works for you. What I didn’t think about was that I soon would have to acquire new horses, recruit more owners and find new employees!”

Erichsen laughs when she recalls the beginning of her new career.

“When the employee some time later handed in her notice, it was certainly a cold shower for me. That wasn’t according to plan!”

There were times when the young Norwegian wished she had stayed far away from the racehorse business. However,

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the 25-year-old soon found her feet and the time passed quickly. Just two years later, she secured her first Listed win with a horse called Oktan.

“We started winning some big races and things just worked out, so I thought I’d continue until I turned 30.”

At the age of 49, Erichsen is now looking back at a trainer’s career spanning almost 25 years, and she has no plans to quit.

She describes herself as a very hands-on trainer, who very much enjoys being around the horses.

“I will muck out if needed, and I’m always on hand to help the farrier or the vet. I still ride out myself, but not as much as before. Riding work is not my thing anymore, but you will often see me on a horse when we do slower work!”

As anyone who has ever attempted to train horses will know, running a yard is also an administrative challenge.

Erichsen far from regrets the time spent at university.

| CATHRINE ERICHSEN |

“I benefit a lot from my studies. Economics and marketing is a good background to have when running a business.”

In recent years, Erichsen has started venturing outside of Scandinavia with her horses. In just three trips to Britain, she has found herself and her horse in the winner’s enclosure twice.

When she saddled Easy Road to win a Class 2 Handicap at Doncaster in 2015, the gelding became the first Norwegian-trained winner in Britain in 11 years. However, Erichsen’s biggest achievement to date came when returning to the British Isles a year later with the same horse to land the Listed Rous Stakes at Ascot.

“My biggest achievement to date was definitely winning the Rous Stakes with Easy Road. I don’t want to bring my Scandinavian Classic victories down, but a Listed win at Ascot was something special.”

With two recent Scandinavian Group winners in the

barn, she has not ruled out another trip to England, although she doubts it will happen this season.

“I have horses that are good enough, and the owners are keen. But the best races in Scandinavia have very good purses, so it makes little sense to send the best horses abroad during the season.”

Erichsen’s international achievements have helped enhancing the international reputation of Norwegian horse racing. However, when Norwegian racing is talked about internationally, it is usually as a case study in the everongoing whip debate.

The whip is a topic to which members the Norwegian racing community have divided opinions in a Marmite kind of way.

In Norway, the whip is not allowed to be used for encouragement. In fact, in races for three-year-olds and older horses, the jockeys are not allowed to carry a whip at all. In

ABOVE: Erichsen with owner, Borre Gran.

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PROFILE

| CATHRINE ERICHSEN |

Duca di Como (IRE) after winning The Polar Cup (Gp 3) on Derby Day, August 25th 2019

juvenile races and hurdle races, cushion whips can be carried, but they can be used only to avoid dangerous situations or if the horse is hanging badly or trying to duck out.

“I don’t like our rules at all. The rules indicate that the whip is a punishment or a form of abuse—but that is not correct. The whip is used to give the horse a message. It has actually made it difficult to get foreign jockeys to Norway, because a lot of the professionals don’t like riding without it,” says Erichsen.

Within horse racing circles, Norway is also known as the birth country of top jockey William Buick. The multiple Gp1 winning jockey—who also steered Easy Road to the victory at Ascot—is the poster boy of Norwegian horse racing. His successes on the international tracks are well documented by Scandinavian racing media and is gathering increasing interest from the Norwegian media outlets. But despite the successes of Buick, thoroughbred horse racing is still a largely unknown sport in Norway.

Catherine gives an example: “Harness racing is very big over here, but most people don’t know about the thoroughbred racing. Sometimes when I meet new people and they ask what I work with, I tell them ‘I bet you 1,000 NOK that you can’t guess what I do’.”

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Erichsen is yet to lose the bet.

“They never guess it. When I tell people that I’m a racehorse trainer, they are surprised to hear that thoroughbred racing even exists in Norway.”

“I’m lucky to have some good owners. But it is difficult to recruit more owners when our sport is unknown. The racing authority in Norway help us along a lot. Because we are so small, we all need to work together.”

In order to market racehorse ownership, the racecourse recently launched a new syndicate, consisting of 50

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PROFILE

Erichsen with her riders, Jonathan Castillo and Jana Kolackova

shareholders paying a once-off fee of NOK 30,000 (around Ð3,000) each. Erichsen was chosen to select and train the horse, who will be targeted at the Norwegian Derby in 2020.

The syndicate and its two-year-old colt—aptly named Fifty Shares—have received plenty of interest from the media, especially thanks to the fact that Princess Märtha Louise of Norway bought into the idea.

Reflecting on the media attention that Princess Märtha Louise has brought, Erichsen says: “It has been great. We get a lot of attention from the press when she is here, and I think the newspapers finally are starting to understand that Øvrevoll is not a trotting track, but a thoroughbred race course.” One racecourse, 400 horses in training and 200 races per year.

Horse racing in Norway is a niche sport. However, speaking about Norwegian racing in isolation does not tell the full story. Together, the racing communities in Norway, Sweden and Denmark make up a small but healthy racing industry.

“For me, it is not Swedish, Danish and Norwegian racing. It is Scandinavian racing. We travel and race our horses a lot between the countries,” Erichsen says.

The racing authorities in the three countries cooperate on everything from race day planning and handicapping to and marketing and regulation. Many of Scandinavia’s trainers, owners, jockeys and horses travel to racecourses in the other countries on a regular basis.

Erichsen is no exception. Most weeks, she will spend at least one day in either Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö or Copenhagen.

However, if you visit Øvrevoll on a race day, you will hear more languages than just Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.

Racing is an international business, not least in Scandinavia.

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 67

| CATHRINE ERICHSEN |

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| CATHRINE ERICHSEN |

Erichsen with Gro Kittilsen and the mare Seaside Song (GB)

Confirming the international character of Norwegian racing, Erichsen says: “My team is made up by a Norwegian, a Chilean, a Brazilian and a Czech!”

Could horses talk, even more languages would be heard in the stable yards. It is not uncommon to see horses bred in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and the USA competing on the same card.

Erichsen’s string consists of horses of six different nationalities. The majority have been purchased at yearling sales or breeze-up sales around Europe: “I mainly go to England, Ireland and Germany. I like Newmarket a lot.”

Erichsen has also had plenty of success with locally bred horses. Ten horses in her care are bred in Scandinavia.

She highlights the many opportunities for Scandinavianbred horses: “There are plenty of races just for locally bred horses. Furthermore, Norwegian-bred horses get 50% bonus on prize money when they compete against imports, and Swedish-bred horses get 40% bonus.”

The current flag bearers of the stable represent one group each: the imports and the Scandinavians. The Irish-bred Goresbridge breeze-up graduate Duca Di Como (Clovodil) won the Gp3 Polar Cup at Øvrevoll just a few days prior to our interview. Two weeks before that, the Swedish-bred Master Bloom (Pastorius) landed the Gp3 Arqana Scandinavian Open Championship.

When asked about the secrets behind the successes, Erichsen is modest. “Hard work, good owners and good staff!” she says with a smile.

“We all work hard in this game. When you love horses and focus your work around them, it is easy. When I look back, I’m very happy that I chose to work with my passion in life.”

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 67

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| NUTRITION |

THE BALAN CIN G ACT Catherine Rudenko

Giles Anderson, Shutterstock

Key considerations when reviewing what you feed and if you should supplement

ith so many feeds and supplements on the market, the feed room can soon take on the appearance of an alchemist’s cupboard. Feeding is of course an artform but one that should be based on sound science.

In order to make an informed decision, there are some key questions to ask yourself and your supplier when choosing what ingredients will form your secret to success.

W

QUESTION #1: What is it?

Get an overview of the products’ intended use and what category of horse they are most suited for. Not every horse in the yard will require supplementing. Whilst one could argue all horses would benefit from any supplement at some level, the real question is do they need it? Where there is a concern or clinical issue, a specific supplement is more likely warranted and is more likely to have an impact. A blanket approach for supplements is really only appropriate where the horses all have the same need (e.g., use of electrolytes).

QUESTION #2: Is it effective?

There are many good reasons to use supplements with an ever-increasing body of research building as to how certain foods, plants or substances can influence both health and performance. Does the feed or supplement you are considering have any evidence in the form of scientific or clinical studies? Whilst the finished product may not—in a branded sense—be researched, the active components or ingredients should be. Ideally, we look for equine-specific research, but often other species are referenced, including humans; and this gives confidence that there is a sound line of thinking behind the use of such ingredients.

Having established if there is evidence, the next important question is, does the feed or supplement deliver that ingredient at an effective level? For example, if research shows 10g of glucosamine to be effective in terms of absorption and reaching the joint, does your supplement or feed—when fed at the recommended rate—deliver that amount?

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There is of course the cocktail effect to consider, whereby mixing of multiple ingredients to target a problem can reduce the amount of each individual ingredient needed. This is where the product itself is ideally then tested to confirm that the cocktail is indeed effective.

QUESTION #3: How does it fit with my current feeding and supplement program?

All too often a feed or supplement is considered in isolation which can lead to over-supplementing through duplication. Feeds and supplements can contain common materials, (i.e., on occasion there is no need to further supplement or that you can reduce the dose rate of a supplement).

Before taking on any supplement, in addition to your current program, you first need to have a good understanding of what is currently being consumed on a per day basis. This is a different matter of comparing one feed tag or supplement pot to another one. Such ‘direct’ comparisons are rarely helpful as dose rates or feeding rates differ, and the manner in which units are expressed is often confusing. Percentages, grams, milligrams and micrograms are all common units of measure used on labelling. The unit chosen can make an inclusion sound significant when perhaps it is not. For example, 1g could be expressed as 1,000mg. Looking at the contribution, any feed or supplement made on an as-fed basis is the only way to know the true value for the horse.

There are many categories of supplements in the market with the greatest cross-over existing around use of vitamins or minerals, which appear in both feeds and supplements. Occasionally feeds can also be a source of ingredients used in digestive health supplements or joint supplements. The contribution of your chosen feed(s) is the base from which you decide what, if any, of those matching nutrients or ingredients should be added to.

Common areas for cross-over include vitamin E, selenium, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, zinc and copper. Duplication may also occur around use of vitamin C (antioxidant), FOS (prebiotic), MOS (pathogen binder), yeast (prebiotic) and occasionally maerl (marine algal calcium source).

| TOTAL DIE TARY BAL ANCE |

ISSUE 67 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| NUTRITION |

Vitamins and Minerals

An often-seen addition to the feed program for thoroughbreds are bone supplements—providing relevant minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, zinc and copper.

Whilst unquestionably important for sound skeletal development these nutrients are also present in feed, albeit at slightly varying levels by brand. Below is a typical profile of a bone supplement with the information as seen per kilogram on the feed label. Calcium and phosphorus are given as percentages on labels and require converting to grams when looking to calculate the amount of nutrients consumed. In this example, the calcium content is 20%, equivalent to 200g per kilogram.

NUTRIENT

PER KILOGRAM

Calcium

g

200

Phosphorus

g

70

Zinc

mg

7000

Copper

mg

1500

The feeding rate is 100g per horse per day. The amount of each nutrient in each 100g dose equates to the amounts shown below. In isolation these numbers mean very little.

Is 20g of additional calcium a lot in comparison to what is found within feed? Perhaps more importantly, how much calcium does a young horse in training need?

NUTRIENT

PER 100G

Calcium

g

20

Phosphorus

g

7

Zinc

mg

700

Copper

mg

150

Continually increasing the amount of the nutrient does mean an equally increasing benefit. Doubling an intake may well double your cost but will not necessarily double your results (see table below).

Not all nutrients have a documented requirement.

There may simply be no requirement;; however, that does mean supplementation is not beneficial. For example, vitamin C has no requirement as the horse can synthesise vitamin C from glucose and is therefore not in need of supplementation to remain healthy. Vitamin C is well documented for its antioxidant role and can be of use at times where immunity may be compromised, for example through stress or illness whereby the body’s own production of vitamin C may be impaired. Use of vitamin C and the dose rate chosen are therefore discretionary and without a fixed guideline on intake. If considering supplementing, the question is, what is the reason for it and is there evidence of results in horses in the same situation? For example, if your horse is suffering from recurrent airway obstruction, research has shown such horses to have low vitamin C levels, and an intake of 30mg/kg of body weight is advised to improve this.

Digestive and Gastric Supplements

The importance of digestive health, relating to the ability to effectively digest and process nutrients, is the basic aim of using supplements to support this process. In addition to this basic function is the area of research, looking at how the gut flora profile - the horse’s microbiome - can influence health and performance. Use of supplements and food stuffs to alter the microbiome and positively influence health status, growth rate, recovery and performance is an area of increasing interest and opportunity.

The requirements of each mineral for a two-year-old in training are detailed in the pink column. These are the levels of each mineral necessary to meet the demands of training and development. When combining our supplement with 7kg (approx. 15 ½ lbs) of a standard racing feed, we are over-feeding each mineral significantly.

The feed alone in this case is already exceeding requirements, giving plenty of safety against variation in forage contribution and appetite of the individual.

NUTRIENT

SUPPLEMENT PER 100G

FEED PER 7KG

FORAGE PER 5KG

INTAKE PER DAY

REQUIREMENT 2YO IN TRAINING

Calcium

g

20

77

14

111

41.7

Phosphorus

g

7

42

7

56

20.4

Zinc

mg

700

840

90

1630

430

Copper

mg

150

315

20

485

107

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| TOTAL DIE TARY BAL ANCE |

Such supplements may include yeast, FOS (fructooligosaccharides), MOS (mannan-oligosaccharides) and ERME (enzyme rich malt extract). Of these inclusions, yeast is the most commonly found within feed although not all brands use yeast as a standard inclusion in racing diets. As with vitamin C, there is no set requirement for any of these supplements; however, there is evidence for each as to their effect on the digestive system.

Joint Supplements

The ingredients used within joint supplements are not commonly found within racing feeds but can be included and are present in some senior horse feeds. Where used, glucosamine and MSM are the most commonly included.

MSM has multiple roles, including improving total antioxidant capacity, influencing recovery post exhaustive exercise and reducing pain and inflammation in joint disease. Multiple human and animal studies have proven MSM effective; the dose rate however has been widely varied, and equine research is limited. Typical intake for equines ranges from 5g-30g per day.

Glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate (CS) are often found in combination and are supplemented with the intention of counteracting cartilage degradation and supporting synthesis of ECM (extracellular matrix), a key component of articular cartilage. There is no recommended intake for CS, however for glucosamine, the recommended dosage is 10g per day for an adult horse.

This recommendation arises from an equine-specific study looking at oral bioavailability of glucosamine.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) in an oral format for equines has no absorption data; however, studies on the effect in yearlings post OCD surgery were positive and significant when reviewing effusion scores in the supplemented group. Dose rate in this study was 100mg per day. In a separate study reviewing the level of PGE2, an inflammatory mediator, those supplemented had significantly lower PGE2 levels.

There are several more choices of active ingredients when looking at joint supplements, including plant-based options. Regardless of the source, the question remains

the same: how does it work and is it documented to be effective in equines or in any other species? Where such evidence does not exist, and this can often be the case, you are then reliant on the theory being sound. Ultimately the evidence becomes your own horses, how you feel they have responded and if a significant difference was noticed.

QUESTION #4: What is the cost of feeding per day?

Having decided if the supplement fits your feeding program and is well evidenced, or at least has a sound theory to its claimed effect, the decision to use becomes a commercial one. With differing pack weights and dose rates, the cost of a supplement is not as easily compared as feeds, which can be looked at on a per ton basis and have the same intake rate.

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| NUTRITION |

| TOTAL DIE TARY BAL ANCE |

There is also the issue of relative cost if the feed is providing more than the basic profile and contains ingredients commonly used in supplements, then the cost per day of feeding will be higher than using a basic feed. However, if you intend to supplement the diet, all costs of feed (including looking at nutrient intake) plus supplementation need consideration as a whole (see tables below).

Initially looking at cost of the main diet, racehorse cubes, the supplemented version is more expensive per bag and so more expensive to feed per horse per day. However, when considering the contribution of supplemented nutrients, the more expensive racehorse cubes actually reduce the cost of feeding each horse through removing the need to supplement yeast and reducing the amount of vitamin C needed.

A cost savings of £0.60 per horse per day may sound insignificant but when considered over a season, the significance soon changes. For a yard of 70 horses, the difference equates to a little over £10,000 for the season.

In Review

Supplementation is a normal and largely beneficial aspect of any feeding program. With many ingredients having no recommended daily intake but having beneficial effects well worth considering, the most important thing to remember is to ask questions. Efficacy of the ingredients needs consideration and the potential benefit weighed up against the commercial implication. As nutrients and supplements frequently interact, working in synergy or building upon each other, the diet must always be considered as a whole.

EXAMPLE DIET

● 7kg standard racehorse cubes, no yeast inclusion and no vitamin C ● 25g vitamin C supplement ● 10g yeast supplement

FEED/ SUPPLEMENT

COST/BAG/ UNIT

WEIGHT

FEEDING/DOSE RATE

COST PER HORSE /DAY

NUTRIENT NOTES

Racehorse Cubes

£10.20 / €11.40

20kg

7kg

£3.57 / €4.00

Vitamin C

£40.00 / €45.00

1kg

25g

£1.00 / €1.10

2,500mg vitamin C

Yeast

£35.00 / €40.00

2kg

10g

£0.18 / €0.20

10g yeast

£4.75 / €5.30

EXAMPLE DIET

● 7kg racehorse cubes with a yeast inclusion and 200mg of vitamin C per kilogram of feed

FEED/ SUPPLEMENT

COST/BAG/ UNIT

WEIGHT

FEEDING/DOSE RATE

COST PER HORSE /DAY

NUTRIENT NOTES

Racehorse Cubes

£10.60 / €11.85

20kg

7kg

£3.71 / €4.15

Yeast included, vitamin C 1,400mg per day

Vitamin C

£40.00 / €45.00

1kg

11g

£0.44 / €0.49

Yeast

£35.00 / €40.00

2kg

N/A

£– £4.15 / €4.64

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 67

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| VETERINARY |

BLEEDERS T H E FA C T S , F I C T I O N A N D F U T U R E D I R E C T I O N Dr. David Marlin

W

e are now approaching half a century since Bob Cook pioneered the use of the flexible fibreoptic endoscope, which allowed examination of the respiratory tract in the conscious horse. One of the important outcomes of this technique was that it opened the door to the study of ‘bleeding’ or exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH). But nearly 50 years on the irony is perhaps that whilst we have become good at describing the prevalence of EIPH and some of the factors that appear to increase the severity of EIPH within individual horses, we still lack a clear understanding of the condition and how to manage it. I use the term manage rather than treat or prevent as our knowledge of EIPH

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 67

Giles Anderson, Shutterstock must show us that EIPH cannot be stopped entirely; it is a consequence of intense exercise. The other irony is that in the past 50 years, by far the majority of research into the management of EIPH has focussed on the use of the diuretic furosemide. Whilst we have good evidence from controlled studies that furosemide reduces the severity of EIPH on a single occasion, we still lack good evidence to suggest that furosemide is effective when used repeatedly during training and or racing; and there is also evidence to the contrary.

Let’s review some basic facts about EIPH, which should not be contentious.

• EIPH is the appearance of blood in the airways associated with exercise.

• EIPH occurs as a result of moderate to intense exercise.

In fact, EIPH has been found after trotting when deep lung

| EIPH – ANY REAL PROGRESS? |

wash (bronchoalveolar lavage or BAL) is done after exercise.

• EIPH most often involves the smallest blood vessels (capillaries) but can sometimes and less commonly be due to the rupture of larger blood vessels.

• The smallest blood vessels are extremely thin. Around 1/100th the thickness of a human hair. But this extremely thin membrane is also what allows racehorses such as thoroughbreds, standardbreds and Arabs to use oxygen at such a high rate and is a major reason for their athleticism.

• EIPH is a progressive condition. The chance of seeing blood in the trachea after exercise increases with time in racing.

• EIPH is variable over time, even when horses are scoped after the same type of work.

• If you ‘scope a horse after three gallops in a row, you can expect to see blood in the trachea on at least one occasion.

• EIPH damage to the lungs starts at the back and top, and over time moves forward and down and is approximately symmetrical.

• Following EIPH the lung becomes fibrotic (as scar tissue), stiffer and does not work as well. The iron from the blood is combined with protein and stored permanently in the lung tissue where it can cause inflammation.

• High blood pressure within the lung is a contributing factor in EIPH. Horses with higher blood pressure appear to suffer worse EIPH. • There is also evidence that upper airway resistance and breathing pattern can play a role in EIPH. • Airway inflammation and poor air quality may increase the severity of EIPH within individual horses.

• Increasing severity of EIPH appears to have an increasing negative effect on performance.

• Visible bleeding (epistaxis) has a very clear and marked negative effect on performance.

In order to make progress in the management of EIPH (i.e., to minimise the severity of EIPH in each individual), there are certain steps that trainers can take based on the information we have to date.

These include: • Ensuring good air quality in stables • Regular respiratory examination and treatment of airway inflammation • Reduced intensity of training during periods of treatment for moderate to severe airway inflammation • Extended periods of rest and light work with a slower return to work for horses following viral infection • Addressing anything that increases upper airway resistance (e.g., roaring, gurgling) • Avoiding intense work in cold weather • Avoiding extremes of going • Limiting number of training days in race preparation and increasing interval between races

What actually causes the capillaries to leak or rupture?

If you ask any vet, scientist or informed trainer what is the cause of EIPH, they will give the phrase ‘pulmonary capillary stress-failure’. But this is simply a description of what happens—NOT an explanation or a mechanism.

EIPH and pulmonary capillary stress-failure are both descriptions of what’s happening. We know high blood pressure makes the capillaries stiff. But what makes them actually rupture? A balloon filled with water may be distended and under a lot of stress. But a pin prick will actually make it burst. The pin is the cause.

Assessing EIPH

At present the most common way to assess the severity of EIPH in horses in training and racing is by ‘scoping 30-40 minutes after exercise and scoring the amount of blood in the trachea. This is a crude method, and when we see a horse that has a score of 1 after one gallop and a 3 after the next gallop, we don’t know whether this is due to differences in how quickly the blood has moved from the periphery of the lung into the trachea or due to a true difference in the amount of bleeding. We know our ‘scoping scores vary from gallop to gallop; we just don’t know why. BAL (deep lung wash) is not the answer either. It will pick up blood when there is none to be seen in the trachea (i.e., it’s a more sensitive technique), but with BAL we are looking at relatively small areas of the lung. What we need is a technique that will allow us to image the whole lung and map the blood that is in the airways and not in the blood vessels so we can assess volume and distribution of haemorrhage.

Furosemide is not the answer

A number of well-conducted and well-written scientific studies have shown conclusively that furosemide is effective in reducing the severity of EIPH in individual horses when used ONE time! We lack convincing studies that prove furosemide works as well when used one to two times a week for two to three months. In fact, several studies suggest that furosemide becomes less effective with regular use, such as the return to previous performance of horses after initial racing and improved performance on furosemide. In human medicine,

FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES IN UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING EIPH We have to accept EIPH as a normal consequence of intense exercise in horses. Our aim should be to reduce the severity to a minimum in each individual horse.

However, there are areas in which we still need a much greater scientific understanding.

ISSUE 67 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

29

| VETERINARY |

repetitive administration of furosemide induces short-term (braking phenomenon, acute diuretic resistance) and longterm (chronic diuretic resistance) tolerance (i.e., if you give the same dose repeatedly, the body becomes tolerant and you get less and less urine production). A study in horses from Michigan State University in 2017 showed horses develop tolerance to furosemide. Why, when we have had nearly 50 years of research into EIPH with more published studies devoted to furosemide than any other aspect, do we still not know if furosemide is effective when used on a regular basis?

Is EIPH really blood?

The assumption has always been that what we see in the airways is blood. That is, it’s the same stuff as we would get if we put a needle in a vein. However, some data from my own studies as yet unpublished and indirect evidence from other studies suggest that initially the high pressures distend the capillaries and open up ‘hole’ that allow protein and some red blood cells to squeeze out into the airways as opposed to obvious tears or ruptures developing the capillaries. This is consistent with observations that many ‘holes’ close up when the blood pressure returns to normal and that EIPH does not continue once exercise has stopped. If we viewed EIPH as being a protein-rich fluid in the airways with some red blood cells as opposed to blood, this may have important implications for some lines of research.

Inflammation: cause or effect

It’s safe to conclude that EIPH and airway inflammation are often associated (i.e., observed to occur together), but we still lack clarity on whether one leads to the other. Racehorses experience intense exercise. Racehorses often have airway inflammation. But the two can occur in isolation or together.

This does not mean they are related in any way.

Heritability

Many trainers believe that there are certain bloodlines that are likely to bleed more severely. As yet, there is no good

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| EIPH – ANY REAL PROGRESS? |

scientific evidence to suggest that EIPH severity is heritable.

However, if specific factors, which increase the severity of EIPH such as high blood pressure, are heritable, then it is entirely conceivable that EIPH severity will be found to have some component of heritability.

Future directions

EIPH is not a condition solely restricted to racehorses. It has been reported in other horses—including polo ponies, showjumpers, barrel-racers, endurance horses, eventers and even in Shetland ponies. It is also not a condition restricted to horses as it has been reported in camels, greyhounds and in human subjects exercising intensely such as swimmers, skiers and military personnel. A primary goal of research into EIPH should be to understand why a portion of the population bleeds more severely and to attempt to reduce the severity in this population. We also require more sensitive and informative techniques to allow us to research EIPH. ‘Scoping is at best a crude, insensitive and potentially misleading technique which may well be hampering our ability to make significant steps forward in our understanding of EIPH. Within the next decade, I also expect to see clear evidence that furosemide is of limited value in the long-term management of EIPH, and we will be judged harshly for having relied on it for so long as the mainstay of treatment.

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ISSUE 67 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| EDUCATION |

Nick Wingfield-Digby

TH OR OU GH BRED SAL ES ASSESSMENT

Update from the Gerald Leigh Memorial Lectures, 2019 Tom O’Keeffe

Beaufort Educational Trust, Florida Equine Veterinary Associates, Rossdales LLP

T

he Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust Gerald Leigh Memorial Lectures took place this year at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket and a host of international and local veterinary specialists and industry leaders were present to discuss the veterinary aspects of the sales selection of the thoroughbred.

Gerald Leigh was a prominent breeder and racehorse owner until his death in 2002; and his friend and vet Nick Wingfield Digby opened the seminar and introduced the speakers. The Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust has established this annual lecture series to provide a platform

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for veterinary topics relating to the thoroughbred to be discussed amongst vets and prominent members of the industry.

Welcome and introduction – Nick Wingfield Digby

Sir Mark Prescott described his take on the sales process and some of the changes he has noted since his early involvement in the industry. He recalled how the first Horses in Training sale he attended had only 186 horses. In those early days, his role was to sneak around the sales ground

stables late at night on the lookout for crib biters. Back then, there was no option to return horses after sale, and as a result, trainers preferred to buy horses from studs they were familiar with—a policy Sir Mark still follows to this day.

Sir Mark went on to explain that he believes strongly that the manner in which an animal is reared has a strong bearing on their ability to perform at a later date.

Sir Mark also mentioned that horses can cope with many conformational faults nowadays that would have been deemed unacceptable in his early years.

He attributed this to improvements in ground conditions, such as watering and all-weather surfaces.

| THOROUGHBRED SALES ASSESSMENT |

Sales selection – The trainer’s view point - Sir Mark Prescott

Mike Shepherd, MRCVS, of Rossdales Equine Practice in Newmarket had been tasked with describing and discussing the sales examination from a veterinary viewpoint and in particular attempting to define what vets are trying to achieve in this process.

Shepherd’s key message was that the physical exam is the cornerstone of any veterinary evaluation. A vet examining a horse on the sales ground is not a guarantee that the horse will never have an issue—there is no crystal ball. Owners and trainers should be aware there are several limitations of the vetting process, and it is helpful to think in terms of a

“pre-bid inspection” rather than a “prepurchase examination”. The horse is away from its home environment, and this puts a lot of stress on the animal.

In most cases, pre-purchase exercise is not possible, so conditions that are only apparent when the horse is exercising and in training may go undetected.

Time is a major challenge, with both vendors and prospective purchasers pushing for everything to be done as quickly as possible. A busy sales vet may have a long list of horses to examine, and information on each must be transferred to their client coherently and clearly—all before the horse is presented for sale. It can be challenging to acquire a detailed veterinary history. Previous surgeries, medication and vices displayed by the animal ought to be reported, but in many cases the person with the horse is not in a position to accurately answer questions on longer-term history.

Everyone involved—the vendor, the prospective purchaser, and the auction house—wants the process to go ahead. The horse to be bought/sold and the vet can be seen as a stumbling block. Prospective purchasers may want the horse to be examined clinically, its laryngeal function examined by endoscope, radiographs of the horse’s limbs either reviewed or taken, ultrasound examinations of their soft tissue structures and heart performed.

The role of the vet is to help the purchaser evaluate all this information and make an evidence-based decision on whether to purchase the horse.

Examining vets can face conflicts of interest when examining horses that are under the ownership or care of one of their clients. Shepherd explained how Rossdales, and some other practices involved in sales work, have a protocol that an examining vet will not perform a vetting on a horse in the care of one of

At Sales, ultrasonography of the heart (echocardiography) can be used to estimate heart size. These images from a two-year old Thoroughbred shows the left ventricle, the main pumping chamber in long (image A) and short axis (image B). By measuring the thickness of the walls and the diameter of the chamber, an estimate of size is created. A small heart is likely disadvantageous, however relating heart size in the young horse to its subsequent performance shows that for those with average or above heart size, multiple factors come into play in determining race performance.

The main strength in heart scanning in a pre-purchase setting is in identifying cardiac conditions can lead to poor performance. These heart scans from a yearling with a loud murmur first detected as it was prepared for Sales, show a ventricular septal defect, a hole in the heart. Using colour Doppler to map blood flow, the coloured area shows blood flowing through a hole between two chambers (Image A). 3D echocardiography, the most advanced form of heart scanning, allows a 3D image of the hole in the heart muscle to be visualised (Image B).

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Sales evaluations now often include ultrasonography of the tendons and ligaments. This shows a normal ultrasonographic appearance of a healthy suspensory branch (A) and the pathology typical of juvenile insertional suspensory ligament branch injury (B). The arrows indicate loss of fibre attachment and bone damage at the insertion onto the sesamoid bone.

their own clients, and will disclose to the prospective purchaser if the vendor is a client of the practice. It is crucial to avoid working for both buyer and seller as a conflict of interest becomes unavoidable.

It is also essential that the vet understands exactly what the horse is expected to do following the sale.

Thoroughbred horses in flat racing have short timescale targets and, as a result, certain parts of the examination carry more weight than others. For example, the knees and fetlock joints are commonly implicated in lameness in flat racehorses; thus particular attention must be paid to these joints when examining yearlings.

Soft tissue injuries are impactful in all young thoroughbreds, but there is a particular emphasis on tendon integrity in the National Hunt racehorse because career-threatening tendon injuries are particularly prevalent in these horses.

When evaluating potential broodmares, good feet are very relevant, and overall conformation is particularly important if the aim is to breed to sell.

Vetting horses for clients aiming to pin hook their purchases places different requirements on the examining vet. These horses need to be able to cope with the preparation required for another sale, and they must also stand up to the scrutiny

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of vets at a later sale. The horse’s walk and conformation rank high in the foal/ yearling stage but may be judged to be less significant if the horse breezes in a fast time at a breeze up sale.

It is also critical that purchasers recognise that many of the common veterinary issues encountered in training are not detectable at the Sales stage. For example, subchondral fetlock pain (bone bruising), which is common in a large

subset of thoroughbreds in training, is not accurately practicable in young thoroughbred prior entering training.

For assessing laryngeal function, there is often concern that this may be too subjective. Dr Justin Perkins, of the Royal Veterinary College, has shown good agreement on endoscopic grading between experienced vets. However, horses’ laryngeal scores vary significantly day to day, and more worrying in the sales setting, one horse examined several times on the same day can have different scope grades. The gold standard in assessing the horse laryngeal function is an overground exercising endoscopy. This is not feasible on sales grounds, and purchasers should be aware that the limited purpose of a resting laryngeal scope is to exclude specific serious hereditary conditions and not to rule out problems which are only evident during exercise. Dorsal displacement of the soft palate cannot be accurately predicted at rest. Similarly, exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage or bleeding can be career limiting, yet once again in the juvenile thoroughbred, there is no way to predict this condition before the horse enters training.

Some conditions can affect some individuals yet be of little consequence in others. An example is kissing spines (impinging spinous processes), and whilst it can be a clinical issue in some individuals, it is commonly encountered in normal horses and therefore is very easy to over-interpret its significance.

The Hong Kong vetting process is considered the gold standard in terms of assessing and examining a racehorse in training. Shepherd highlighted that some

A: This is what one hopes to find at Sales endoscopy: a normal larynx from a three year old Thoroughbred colt with no abnormal respiratory noise. The arrows are pointing to the arytenoid cartilages.

B: In this 3 year old, dynamic endoscopy shows marked left arytenoid and vocal cord collapse. It is important that purchasers recognise that the resting examination is not a complete evaluation and some conditions are only fully revealed at exercise whereas others, like displacement of the palate only occur while the horse is exercising.

| THOROUGHBRED SALES ASSESSMENT |

new rules have recently been introduced.

There are now guidelines on measuring tendons, and horses with a superficial digital flexor tendon cross-sectional area of greater than 1.6cm2 are not allowed to be imported into Hong Kong because of a potential increased risk of tendon injury.

The use of medication in horses at the sales ground and early in their life is currently an area of controversy. The concern is that there may be longer-term impact. Penalties associated with the use of anabolic steroids are well documented: the horse will be placed under a lifetime ban if these drugs have been used. The British Horseracing Authority will also place a lifetime ban on young horses which have received bisphosphonates. Potentially, these drugs may have been given without the knowledge of the vendor, therefore client education and sales conditions will have to be adapted unless a sensible compromise can be reached to prevent a high-profile embarrassment for the authorities.

The Sales Exam – The veterinary viewpoint – Mike Shepherd

The topic discussion then moved back to earlier in a thoroughbred’s life to examine whether foal injuries and disease compromise sales and racing performance. Common reasons for foals admitted to neonatal units include neonatal maladjustment syndrome (dummy foals), neonatal sepsis, prematurity/dysmaturity and congenital abnormalities. There is often multi-organ or multi-joint involvement.

Prematurity/dysmaturity leads to poor bone formation, which is most typically

detected via radiography where incomplete ossification of the cuboidal bones in the knees and hocks is seen.

In 339 thoroughbred foals presented to the Peter Rossdales Foal Unit, there was a 75% survival rate with premature foals having the least chance of survival. Relating neonatal illnesses to the thoroughbred sales process, Dr Kevin Corley in Ireland has shown there was no difference in sales price between hospitalised foals and controls selected from the same sales.

Prof Celia Marr looked at ultimate racing success in foals that had been admitted to the Peter Rossdales Foal Unit. Overall, the likelihood of these foals racing, winning and being placed stood up well in comparison to a cohort of foals born in 1999—the most recent available data for comparison which had been published from researchers based in the Equine Fertility Unit.

In a larger study, Chidlow and colleagues looked at foals hospitalised in Florida. Foals that were sick as neonates were less likely to race than their siblings with premature foals and foals who had orthopaedic issues as a neonate worst affected. In the Rossdales group of foals, foals treated for prematurity and orthopaedic problems achieved less than others. In contrast, racing outcomes from foals with rib fractures sustained during birth were not different from their siblings. Looking at the impact of lung problems on future racing performance— perhaps against expectations—in a cohort of over 1,200 foals, foal pneumonia had no significant difference in likelihood to race. The overall conclusion of this section of the day was that if the foal survived initial problems, on the whole to prognosis for sales and racing, then that is favourable.

Do foal injuries and diseases compromise sales and racing performance – Celia Marr

The keynote speaker for the 2019 Gerald Leigh Memorial Lectures was Debbie SpikePierce of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. Spike-Pierce is widely published in the field of juvenile radiography, and throughout her career she has focused on relating the conditions encountered at yearling thoroughbred auctions with future race performance.

Spike-Pierce has amassed a huge amount of information over the past 20 years. Based on this, she is able to apply an evidence-based approach to advising her clients on the relevance of radiographic lesions found in yearlings.

Spike-Pierce’s research has largely been performed on horses both reared and racing in the U.S. There are differences in opinion and experiences of vets based in Europe and those in the U.S. with respect to their interpretation of the significance of various lesions. There are also major difficulties encountered with following up racehorses in training because of the huge range of variables that these horses encounter with different training techniques, surfaces and racing under different medication guidelines.

Radiography at the Sales - Are findings associated with future performance Pt1 – Debbie Spike-Pierce

Leaders in Thoroughbred Veterinary Healthcare Rossdales’ dedicated team of vets offers a comprehensive sales service to vendors and purchasers at all major bloodstock sales worldwide. For information on acquiring radiographs, videoscopes and sales vettings, call into our office at Tattersalls, Newmarket during the sales, or contact Tom O’Keeffe, Robert Dallas, Ian Cameron or Mike Shepherd.

www.rossdales.com · 01638 663150 ISSUE 67 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| EDUCATION |

| THOROUGHBRED SALES ASSESSMENT |

unique biomechanical stresses placed on the racehorse and the potential impact this has on future injury.

Does conformation affect gait: objective assessment – Renate Weller

Radiographs of sesamoids without sesamoiditis (A) and with severe sesamoiditis (B). The circle contains one of the sesamoids. Note the dark areas in the affected sesamoid which are vascular channels in the affected sesamoid.

Radiography at the Sales - Are findings associated with future performance Pt2 – Debbie Spike-Pierce

When looking at the impact of these juvenile radiographs, published studies are invaluable. But it is also very important not to be dogmatic about their potential impact as the myriad of other issues that can prevent a horse from racing—including illness, colic, orthopaedic injury and most importantly each horse’s inherent ability—will impact upon the outcome measures used in many of the studies looking at repository radiography findings.

The first specific condition Spike-Pierce discussed was sesamoiditis. She ran through the various studies performed from Howard and colleagues in 1992 to McLellan and Plevin’s more recent research.

Spike-Pierce highlighted a few points from her own earlier research, which concluded that horses with the worst sesamoiditis had decreased starts and earnings. Horses with mild generalised sesamoiditis show no difference in earnings. McLellan and Plevin have shown that horses with severe sesamoiditis were five times more likely to develop a suspensory branch injury than control horses.

Horses with supracondylar lysis are three times less likely to start than their siblings; however, of those that raced, no difference in earnings was seen. Dr Kane’s study on enthesophyte formation proximal sesamoids showed affected individuals were three times less likely to start a race than horses without this condition; and those with dorsal proximal pastern fragmentation of the hind fetlock

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joints are two times less likely to start than horses without this lesion. There is evidence to show medial forelimb apical sesamoid fragments have a poor prognosis. Basilar sesamoid fragments are uncommon and found in only 37 cases of over 7,000 radiography reports from 1999-2005; but the bigger the fragment the worse the prognosis.

Looking at the carpus (knee), SpikePierce explained how the upper joint or antebrachiocarpal joint is looked upon more leniently from a veterinary point of view. Lesions there are less likely to cause lameness, and this joint is generally a more ‘forgiving’ joint; abnormalities here do not negatively impact upon horse ability to sell and race. However, pathology within the lower knee joint, or radial carpal joint, is looked upon very critically; and there is little tolerance to changes seen here due to its position as one of the most common origins of lameness in the racehorse.

Stifle cysts come in all shapes and sizes, however in many cases, they can have a major detrimental impact on the affected horse’s ability to race. SpikePierce’s research has shown that 70% of cases seen by her clinic and suffering from medial femoral condyle cysts that cover a joint surface of less than 1.5mm will race, compared to 30% of the horses with lesions over 1.5mm making the racetrack. SpikePierce also expressed her frustration over the inability to predict which horse will become lame with cysts and which will not.

Next in the programme, Professor Renate Weller of the Royal Veterinary College looked at whether conformation affected gait. Weller highlighted the

Dr Des Leadon of the Irish Equine Centre provided an update on current discussions amongst industry stakeholders on the topic of Genomics. Dr Leadon stressed that whilst much exciting work is being done, Genomics research is still in its infancy, and more knowledge and cooperation between the different industry participants is required before its use can be validated in the mainstream thoroughbred population.

Genomics and performance profiling – Where are we heading – Des Leadon

Luca Cumani brought the day to a close describing the great success that he and Gerald Leigh had together, most notably with Barathea in the Breeders Cup. Cumani talked about his dual role as a trainer in trying to identify yearlings and as a commercial breeder challenged with placing horses in the right sale and selling them commercially.

A personal view on producing and selecting horses for racing and breeding – Luca Cumani

The seminar at Palace House Museum was attended by industry leaders from all over Europe and owes much to the incredible generosity proved by the Gerald Leigh Memorial Trust and the wonderful array of international world-renowned speakers that the Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust assembled in Newmarket. The thoroughbred sales auction place will never be without stress and some consternation, but with continuing scientific research and a practical application of the knowledge gained over the years, vets are better placed than ever to offer advice to their clients in their efforts to source the next champion.

All talks given in this seminar, plus additional seminars arranged by Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust are available to view via www.beaufortcottage.com.

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| TRAINING |

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| SURFACES |

ARE WE GOING SOFT ON OUR HORSES? Amy Barstow

O

Giles Anderson, Eclipse Sportwire, Caroline Norris

ver the years there has been a steady move away from traditional concrete surfaces in yards towards surfaces that are generally considered softer, such as rubber. Furthermore, in some areas, the surfaces of the tracks which link yards with training facilities (horse walks) have also moved towards ‘softer’ surfaces. This has led some to wonder if our horses are missing out on a key opportunity to condition their musculoskeletal system. This article will explore what the scientific research tells us about how different surfaces affect the horse and what this might mean for musculoskeletal conditioning and injury resistance.

The majority of the research that has highlighted the links between surfaces and injuries is from epidemiology studies. These studies view large populations of horses and pull together lots of different factors to elucidate risk factors for injury. They, therefore, do not attempt to investigate why surfaces may be implicated as a risk.

To understand the link between surface and injury risk, other types of research must be done including biomechanics studies, lab-based studies on bone and tendon samples and prospective experimental studies.

Biomechanics studies explore how the horse, especially their limbs and feet, move on different surfaces and the forces and vibrations that they experience. Lab-based work investigates how musculoskeletal tissues respond to loading and vibrations at the cellular and extracellular level. Prospective experimental studies take a group of horses and expose them to different environments (e.g., conditioning on different surfaces). Then you compare the groups, for example, looking for signs of musculoskeletal

injury using diagnostic imaging techniques. The research done using these different techniques can then be pieced together to help us decide how to better manage the health and performance of racehorses.

There is a wealth of epidemiological data to suggest that the surface type and condition during racing influences the occurrence of musculoskeletal injuries in the racehorse.

Though it must be remembered that musculoskeletal injury is multifactorial with training regimens, race distance, the number of runners, horse age and sex all coming into play. Though there are comparably fewer data available relating to the effect of training surface type and properties on musculoskeletal injury rates, what is available also suggests that firmer surfaces increase the risk of sustaining an injury either during training or racing. For example, horses trained on a softer, wood fibre surface are less likely to suffer from dorsal metacarpal disease (bucked shins) than those trained on dirt tracks. However, horses trained on a traditional sand surface have been shown to be at a greater risk of injury (fracture) during racing.

This could be due to the soft sand surface not stimulating sufficient skeletal loading to adequately condition the musculoskeletal system for the forces and loading experienced during racing. It could also be the result of horses racing on a surface with very different properties to those that they trained on.

So far the majority of the scientific research discussed relates to horses galloping and cantering, which are not the gaits that they will generally be using around the yard or getting to and from the gallops. There is very little work to link sub-maximal (low) speed exercise on different surfaces to injury in horses. In a small group of Harness (trotting) horses, those trained on a softer surface ISSUE 67 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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had a lower incidence of musculoskeletal pathology identified using diagnostic imaging techniques, compared to those trained on a firm surface. There is also evidence of the benefit of softer surfaces in livestock housing.

Experimental work by Eric Radin in the 1980s found that sheep kept on a concrete floor compared to a softer dirt floor had more significant orthopaedic pathologies at postmortem. Furthermore, the use of rubber matting reduces the incidence of foot lameness in dairy cattle. So it would appear that a softer ground surface is beneficial even at sub-maximal intensity locomotion.

The epidemiological data discussed so far tells us that surface can play a role in injury, but it does not provide any answers for why that may be the case. From a veterinary and a scientific perspective, I am interested in how different surfaces influence limb vibration characteristics and loading in horses. This is because bones can respond to

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their loading and vibration environment in ways that may both improve their ability to resist injury or fatigue them and make them more prone to injury. So there are two puzzle pieces to put together with the epidemiological data: 1) how load and vibration influence the skeletal system and 2) how surfaces influence the loading and vibrations experienced by the horses limbs.

So briefly, it’s known that bone adapts to the loading environment it is in. It adapts its composition to ensure that it is strong enough in the correct places to withstand the loads that are placed upon it. It does this by responding to the cycle of compression and release that occurs as it is sequentially loaded and unloaded as the horse legs alternate between periods of stance (when the foot is in contact with the ground) and swing (moving through the air). Vibrations cause micro-compression of the bone as they travel up the limb and so are also thought to have a role in the conditioning of bone too. There is however a balance to strike when it comes to conditioning bone.

There needs to be sufficient loading for it to adapt, but overloading or applying load (in the form of exercise) too often can result in micro-damage to the bone which then does not have time to sufficiently repair. A recent review article in The Veterinary Journal by Peta Hitchens highlighted two separate causes of fracture in racehorses.

One being the fracture of bone that has become damaged but not yet repaired (known as pathological bone) and the second being the fracture of healthy bone that was exposed to a force that it was not conditioned to.

How to strike the correct balance of sufficient but not excessive bone loading still somewhat eludes us when it comes to optimally conditioning the racehorse.

Biomechanical studies demonstrate that in general, softer surfaces reduce both peak horizontal and vertical force, peak deceleration at foot-ground impact and the frequency

| SURFACES |

and power of the resultant vibrations. So there could be two ways of viewing this. One is that softer surfaces may prevent the overloading of the musculoskeletal system of the horses, but the second is that there is not sufficient conditioning of the musculoskeletal through exercise on softer surfaces. This may be where the concerns about the use of softer surfaces may be arising. There is probably truth in both interpretations, but they must be contextualised within the whole approach to training a horse. Considering the role surfaces can play in the conditioning of the musculoskeletal system and injury risk of the horse, it would seem important to, as far as possible, train on the surfaces that the horses are going to race on, though that may not always be possible.

So how does this relate to the move away from concrete to softer surfaces around the yard and training facilities?

These surfaces are often used by horses at sub-maximal speeds such as walk and trot; and the current research largely focuses on horses moving faster than this and so cannot be directly transferred to the current situation.

Furthermore, there are no epidemiological studies to determine surface as a risk factor in horses locomoting at these low speeds. During my PhD, I carried out some biomechanics research to increase our understanding of how different firm surfaces—including tarmac and gravel—affected foot-surface impact in slow-moving horses. Previous work had shown how different softer surfaces influenced the foot-surface interaction in fastmoving horses, but there was limited research into whether this different firm surfaces altered the footsurface interaction. In response to the majority of the previous work being carried out in fast-moving horses, I also chose to focus on walk and trot in this study. Like

previous studies, I utilised hoof-mounted accelerometers and focused on vibration, not force. The results showed that, in line with previous work, the vibration frequency was higher, and the vibrations more powerful on the firmer tarmac surface compared to the gravel. If we make the assumption that higher frequency vibrations could be a factor in musculoskeletal injury, then moving away from firmer surfaces to softer ones may be beneficial.

When considering which surfaces should be used for which purposes, it is important to consider the speed at which the horses will locomote on them. In the work that I carried out, the frequency of the vibrations was similar at walk and trot on the same surface; however, the power of the vibration was significantly higher at the trot than walk.

ONE SURFACE THAT IS QUITE UNDERRESEARCHED IS RUBBER. IT CAN BE VERY GRIPPY AS IT HAS A GREATER COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION.

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HORSES TRAINED ON A SOFTER, WOOD FIBRE SURFACE ARE LESS LIKELY TO SUFFER FROM DORSAL METACARPAL DISEASE (BUCKED SHINS) THAN THOSE TRAINED ON DIRT TRACKS. Though there is little work to link the power of vibration to injury or bone adaptation, it’s worth considering that gait does change this component of the vibration make up.

One surface that is quite under-researched is rubber.

Though this surface is softer and more deformable than firmer concrete-based surfaces, it can be very grippy as it has a greater coefficient of friction. This extra grip could reduce the horizontal sliding of the foot that occurs after the foot has landed but before peak loading. The distance and duration of this slip are thought to be important for reducing the force at impact, so it is possible that if rubber decreases the slip period, then impact force could be increased. However, at this point, this is just speculation; further research would need to be conducted to determine if this is the case. As mentioned previously, the use of rubber matting in dairy farms—in both the housing, milking and walking areas—has been associated with a reduction in cattle lameness, foot bruising and carpal swelling. Though it should be kept in mind that there are obvious differences between horse and cattle hoof anatomy and cattle are often standing. When it comes to trying to weigh up the pros and cons of rubber

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| SURFACES |

matting, it’s important to consider the potential benefits of rubber flooring such as a reduction in horses slipping over and a softer landing for both the horse and rider should they fall onto the ground. These safety benefits may outweigh a possible reduction in musculoskeletal conditioning, which as a theory is currently not supported or refuted by sufficient evidence.

From previous work, we have an idea about both race-day and training factors, including surfaces that may influence the risk of a racehorse sustaining a musculoskeletal injury during racing. There is comparatively less research into training factors, including training surfaces and their effect of injury risk; currently, there is no data investigating the effect of yard and horse walk surfaces on injury. These are areas where research groups are starting to focus more of their research efforts with some interesting work from Ashleigh Morrice-West from Melbourne, Australia, who has investigated the proportion of training and racing carried out on different surface types. From the evidence, it seems that it is the work on the training surfaces that prepares horses to withstand the challenge of racing, so the yard and horse walk surfaces would be less likely to influence the risk of race-day musculoskeletal injuries.

However, work off the gallops prepares horses for work on the gallops so it’s possible—but currently lacking evidence to support or refute the idea—that the surfaces racehorses walk and trot on may influence their risk of injury during training. At this point, it is extremely important to remember that injuries are influenced by many factors, of which surface is only one and an area that still needs greater research probing to fully understand.

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ADVERTORIAL FEATURE

Overcoming Degenerative Joint Disease in the

Thoroughbred Racehorse One of the most frustrating challenges affecting the career of the thoroughbred racehorse is degenerative joint disease (DJD), which is commonly known as osteoarthritis. Contrary to popular belief, this is not only encountered towards the end of a racing career, it can also affect the horse early in its training.

by Catherine Seagroatt BVSc MRCVS

termination of its racing career or at the very least a limitation on its performance. Sales preparation can enable DJD to be detected early on, through veterinary examinations and survey radiographs. This early detection of DJD means that treatment can be administered early on in the disease, giving the horse the best chance for a successful training career. It is also worth noting that cartilage within the joint of younger horses has a greater capacity for repair compared to that of older horses 3, which is why early diagnosis is so important.

How is DJD diagnosed?

As mentioned above, DJD resulting from OCD can be detected following routine radiographs before any outward signs of the disease are seen. As the disease worsens, signs such as decreased performance, joint swelling or lameness will be seen.

In order to rule out other causes of these signs, a veterinary examination is needed which will often involve joint blocks and radiographs. Arthroscopy (key-hole surgery of the joint) can also be used to diagnose less severe cases which may not be obvious on radiographs (Fig 1). This has the additional benefit that any joint mice or damaged tissue can be removed at the same time.

As with all disease processes, the earlier DJD is identified and treated, the better the outcome is likely to be.

Which horses are at risk of DJD?

developing. In addition to this, thoroughbreds

Current treatments for DJD

DJD is responsible for up to 60% of all

are predisposed to osteochondrosis dissecans

cases of lameness and has many differing

(OCD)3 which is a developmental joint

The two main goals for treating DJD are

causes1, which means it can affect horses of

disease (a joint disease that occurs as a result

firstly, to treat the symptoms of the disease

any age, breed or gender. Thoroughbred

of the horse growing and developing). OCD

by reducing the inflammation and pain

racehorses, due to the nature of their work,

can involve bone chips within the joint 3,

(lameness); and secondly, to treat the

often develop DJD earlier than other breeds.

commonly the fetlock in thoroughbreds,

disease itself. Medications that work to

This is because, during training, the young

which are sometimes referred to as ‘joint mice’.

thoroughbred’s joints have greater exposure

From the very start of its career, healthy

reduce the symptoms are referred to as symptomatic treatments1. Those that are

to repetitive wear and tear as well as a

joints are fundamental to the racing

targeting the regeneration or healing of the

higher incidence of traumatic injury to the

thoroughbred’s success. The development

joint, and therefore treating the disease itself,

joint, which increases the likelihood of DJD

of DJD will often result in the premature

are known as disease modifying treatments 1.

Damage to the surface of the cartilage within the joint

FIG 1: Radiograph and arthroscopy image of the same joint with DJD. Changes are not obvious on radiograph but damage to the cartilage is clearly seen on arthroscopy, highlighting the importance of arthroscopy in identifying early DJD.

degeneration which occur in DJD 10. This means it is an effective treatment for joint disease but will not be effective for other causes of lameness such as tendon disease.

A particular benefit of Arti-Cell® Forte compared to many of the other available treatments is there is no competition FIG 2: Series of radiographs of the same joint taken at different time points showing the progressive degeneration of the joint whilst in training, despite repeated joint medications.

withdrawal time and so it can be used whilst the horse is in training.

Arti-Cell® Forte is licensed for use

Traditionally there has been widespread

means they have not been assessed for

in horses that have a mild to moderate

use of symptomatic treatment 1 rather

safety and efficacy by regulatory authorities,

degree of lameness. It could help redress

than disease modifying treatments.

which is clearly not ideal when treating such

the balance in early cases of joint disease,

These symptomatic treatments can be

high level equine athletes. However, with

and provide a level of protection to the

very effective in treating each episode of

continual advances in technology, a licenced

cartilage. In addition to classic joint disease

lameness. However, they do not act to help

stem cell treatment for horses with a proven

cases, it is also beneficial in treating OCD

repair the original injury, and so the disease

safety and efficacy profile has been launched

cases after surgery if lameness persists.

continues to cause degeneration of the

and is now available: Arti-Cell® Forte (Fig 3).

advancement for the long standing battle

joint. Commonly, symptomatic treatments include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory

Arti-Cell® Forte is a very exciting treatment

Arti-Cell® Forte

against joint disease in the thoroughbred

drugs (NSAIDs) given in the feed and joint

Arti-Cell® Forte is the first licensed stem

industry and should be considered in any case

medications such as steroids and hyaluronic

cell treatment available in veterinary

of DJD to help each thoroughbred racehorse

acids. These treatment protocols need to be

medicine. It is a joint injection containing

fight this progressive disease.

planned carefully to take into consideration

specially developed stem cells licensed for

any competition withdrawal time 2 and tend

the treatment of lameness in horses. It is

to only give a short term solution to the

an ‘off-the-shelf treatment’ so enables

problem. Because of this, these treatments

the vet to respond quickly to joint disease,

usually have to be repeated, often at shorter

whereas previous stem cell medications

and shorter intervals as the disease process

have involved a significant processing time,

continues (Fig 2). Ultimately, in many cases

preventing their use in the early stages of

the DJD will then be career limiting.

disease. Previous stem cell therapies have

Disease modifying medications are growing in popularity, and involve a wide variety of applications. Many of these applications use either stem cells, platelet

also been unlicensed and so have not had their efficacy and safety evaluated.

This new stem cell treatment is also novel as it is the first stem cell medication

rich plasma or autologous conditioned

that is specifically targeted to a particular

serum all of which are examples of

tissue area, which studies have shown

regenerative medicines 1,5. These have been

makes it even more effective 10. In this case

used with varying degrees of success in the

the stem cells are processed to be directed

thoroughbred racehorse to treat DJD. Very

towards cartilage, enabling them to be

few of these treatments are licensed which

effective in treating the cartilage lesions and

REFERENCES

5. Freitag, J., Bates, D., Boyd, R., Shah, K., Barnard, A., Huguenin, L., Tenen, A. (2016) ‘Mesenchymal stem cell therapy in the treatment of osteoarthritis: reparative pathways, safety and efficacy - a review’, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 17, pp. 1-13

1. McIlwraith, C.W., Frisbie, D.D. and Kawcak, C.E. (2012) ‘The horse as a model of naturally occurring osteoarthritis’, Bone and Joint Research, 1(11), pp. 297-309 2. FEI (2018) FEI List of Detection Times [Online]. Available at: https://inside.fei. org/ system/files/FEI Detection Times 2018_0.pdf. [Accessed on: 17th June 2019]

FIG 3: Arti-Cell® Forte is a joint injection containing specially developed stem cells.

3. Auer & Stick. 2006 Equine Surgery. Synovial Joint Biology and Pathobiology pp.1036-1054

6. Sutton, S., Clutterbuck,A., Harris, P., Gent,T., Freeman, S.,Foster, N., BarrettJolley, R. and Mobasheri,A., 2009.The contribution of the synovium, synovial derived inflammatory cytokines and neuropeptides to the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis.The veterinary journal, 179(1), pp.10-24.

4. Goodrich, L.R. and Nixon, A.J., 2006. Medical treatment of osteoarthritis in the horse–a review. The Veterinary Journal, 171(1), pp.51-69.

7. Hermann, W., Lambova, S. and Muller-Ladner, U. (2018) ‘Current Treatment Options for Osteoarthritis’, Current Rheumatology Reviews, 14(2), pp. 108-116

8. Ruiz, M., Maumus, M.,Jorgensen, C. and Noël, D., 2019. Mesenchymal Stem Cell- Based Therapy of Osteoarthritis: Current Clinical Developments and Future Therapeutic Strategies. In A Roadmap to Non-Hematopoietic Stem Cell-based Therapeutics (pp. 87- 109).Academic Press.org/10.2746/042516403776114199 9. Hermann W, Lambora S, Muller-Ladner U. 2018. Current Treatment Options for Osteoarthritis. Curr Rheumatol Rev 14(2) 108-116 10. Spaas,J.H., Broeckx, S.Y., Chiers, K., Ferguson, S.J., Casarosa, M.,Van Bruaene, N., Forsyth, R., Duchateau, L., Franco- Obregón,A., Wuertz-Kozak, K., 2015.

Chondrogenic priming at reduced cell density enhances cartilage adhesion of equine allogeneic MSCs - a loading sensitive phenomenon in an organ culture study with 180 explants. Cell. Physiol. Biochem. 37, 651–665.

CATHERINE SEAGROATT BVSc MRCVS - Catherine graduated from Liverpool University Veterinary School in 2003, she completed an equine internship followed by a stint at Rossdale and Partners in Newmarket. In 2005 Catherine spent a year at North Carolina State University Veterinary Hospital where she specialized in Internal medicine but developed a growing interest in orthopaedic issues of the equine athlete. After returning to the UK and private practice she split her time between horses in training and stud medicine practice which allowed her to establish a comprehensive interest in the thoroughbred racehorse, from conception to training.

Arti-Cell® Forte suspension for injection for horses contains chondrogenic induced equine allogeneic peripheral blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells. UK: POM-V. Further information available in the SPC or from Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd, RG12 8YS, UK. Tel: 01344 746957.

Email:vetenquiries@boehringer-ingelheim.com. Arti-Cell® Forte is a registered trademark of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH, used under licence. ©2019 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd. All rights reserved. Date of preparation: Sept 2019. AHD 12786. Use Medicines Responsibly.

| BUSINESS |

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| EMHF |

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN EUROPEAN RACING Dr. Paull Khan

W

Cathy McGlynn, Caroline Norris & Alamy

hen France decided in 2016 to introduce a weight allowance for female riders, it set the racing world murmuring and shone a light on the issue of gender diversity among jockeys.

Jean-Pierre Columbu, vi vice-president vic of France Galop, explains: “My president, Edouard de Rothschild, who had introduced Lady Riders’ races about a decade earlier, still felt they were something of a ‘ghett tto’, tto and wanted to do more to see females compete on equal terms”. The 2-kg (4.4lbs) allowance applied to both fl flat fla and jump races, but excluded Patte tern races. Last year, the allowance was reduced on the fl flat to 1.5kg. fla It was a bold step and one that has quickly produced some dramatic results. Within three years, female professional fllaat jockeys are getti ting three times the number of rides they used to, and their wi winners tally has risen win by a staggering 340%. Despite the exclusion of the most lucrative races, the prize money won by horses ridden by females has also nearly trebled, from Ð4.1M to Ð12M. To Columbu, this increase in earnings among lady riders is crucial to the recruitment and retention of women. “In our Jockey School”, he notes, “65% are now female. And nd there are, of course, many, many females in our stables who must have the opportunity to earn money”.

Indeed, it could be said that that the allowance has achieved its objective. Female riders’ percentage of rides, which are wi winners, has improved from 7.14% to 9.08%— win rapidly closing in on the male riders’ equivalent fi figure of fig 9.73%. So has the experiment run its course, and wiilll the allowance soon be phased out? Columbu does not think so.

“ The allowance is going to stay”, he concludes. “I used to be a surgeon. In males, 35% of body weight is made up of muscle. In women, that fi figure is 27%. That is why the fig allowance is needed”.

Of course, France is far from being alone in experiencing under-representation of women riders, as the table below shows.

Other countries have been studyin ing the French experiment wiitth interest from afar. In Britain, fl flag-bearer fla Hayley Turner’s exploits are well-known. However, not all in the garden is rosy. Rose Grissell, recently appointed Head of Diversity and Inclusion for British Racing, notes: “Recent successes should be celebrated and promoted, but there is further to go. Fourteen percent of professional jockeys are female, but women receive just 8.2% of the rides and, in 2018, no woman rode in a fl flat Gp1 race. So, fla while the trends are in many ways encouraging, they do not apply across the board”.

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FRENCH FEMALE RIDERS’ ALLOWANCE RESULTS* 2016

2017

2018

% rise 2016 to 2018

Number of rides by female jockeys

3919

6437

8603

120%

Number of winners

280

555

781

179%

Prize money won by horses rdden by female jockeys

€4.1M

€8.7M

€12.2M

198%

*NB Flat racing only

FEMALE REPRESENTATION AMONG PROFESSIONAL JOCKEYS 60

50

40

30

48

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 67

Belgium 43

Germany 39

Sweden 32

Norway 20

France 20

GB 14

0

Ireland 8

10

Spain 17

20

These concerns are echoed by the organisation Women in Racing. Established in 2009, Women in Racing was formed to encourage senior appointments at Board level across the industry and to attract more women into the sport. That ambition remains, but today, according to its chair, Tallulah Lewis, there is more focus on strengthening career development for women at all levels. For Lewis, a prime concern is the attrition rate; in other words, the fact that the 14% figure for female riders that we have noted above occurs despite the ratio of new recruits entering into racing through the two racing schools in Britain, being as high as 70:30 in favour of females. Understanding their lack of progression is a key aim.

Grissell, indeed, intends to examine issues of recruitment, training and retention, looking to help either remove the barriers to lady riders’ success or to lend support. One tactic might be to challenge the perception of the innate inferiority of the female jockey. Grissell again: “A study by PhD student Vanessa Cashmore identified that punters undervalue women riders: a woman riding a horse at odds of 9/1 had the same chance of victory as a man riding one at 8/1”.

Such findings call into question the need for a genderbased riders’ allowance and, indeed, British lady riders themselves have voiced opposition to the concept.

The French experiment—and its undoubted success— presents a dilemma to those who seek better outcomes for women riders but who are convinced that they are equally effective as their male counterparts, given the opportunities.

“We applaud what the French have done in this experiment, as it gives us all more information than we had before”, says Lewis. “Our concern is that it is based on the premise that women are not men’s equal when it comes to race riding—something the evidence disproves”.

| EMHF |

FEMALE REPRESENTATION AMONG PROFESSIONAL TRAINERS 60

50

40

30

Sweden 57

Germany 33

Norway 30

GB 22

France 18

0

Belgium 16

10

Spain 11

20

Ireland 7

Belgium, which boasts the highest percentage of the countries polled, has crunched the numbers and decided against following the French example. Marcel de Bruyne, director of the Belgian Gallop Federation, explains: “We have the same percentage of females—43% among our professional and amateur riders and, as they achieve approximately the same percentage of winning rides as the men, we do not envisage giving a weight allowance for females”. (All of which suggests Belgium would make an interesting case study.)

Spain, by contrast, is due to have introduced a 1.5kg allowance for females by the time this magazine is published. It would be surprising if other countries did not decide to follow suit, either by replicating the weight allowance or conjuring some other incentive for the female jockey. A prize money premium for connections who engage female riders would be one such option, which would have the benefit of leaving the actual terms of competition undistorted.

Of course, gender diversity is but one aspect of diversity in general. It is often the first to be tackled because of the (at least traditional) binary classification applying to the sexes, and the relative ease of data collection. But diversity and inclusion in ethnic or racial terms, in sexual orientation and identification, in physical ability, etc. are all key components when assessing the extent to which a sub-group reflects the wider society in which it sits.

The argument is now widely accepted that homogeneity stifles innovation and that, in addition to any altruistic motivation for advancing the cause of the underrepresented, there is also an economic, self-interested imperative for organisations to do so. And there is every reason to suppose that this applies equally to racing.

The benefits, in terms of staff recruitment and retention, for example, that would likely flow from well-managed diversity should be just as applicable to, say, a trainer’s yard as to any other commercial operation.

Talking of trainers, the table below shows the percentage of female professional licensed trainers by country, and as with the professional jockeys, again reveals a very wide variation.

What, if anything, is being done to address this disparity? Or indeed, manifestations of a lack of diversity among other groups within racing: administrators and racecourse executives, for example, or, looking more broadly, among those who attend races, or place bets on horseracing?

The short answer would appear to be: not a lot. The country which has done by far the most work in this space would appear to be Great Britain where, two years ago, the British Horseracing Authority established a Diversity in Racing Steering Group.

The story starts in 2017, when Women in Racing jointly commissioned and published a study by Oxford Brookes University, entitled ‘Women’s representation and diversity in the horseracing industry’. The report found evidence of ‘a lack of career development opportunities (at all levels including jockeys), progression and support, some examples of discriminative, prejudice and bullying behaviour, barriers and lack of representation at senior and board level, and negative experiences of work-life balance and pastoral care’.

Its main recommendation was to ‘establish an independent diversity steering body to support British horseracing in developing a deeper understanding of its diversity, with the longer-term target of such a steering group to set industry-wide voluntary diversity targets and developing an effective monitoring mechanism’.

The BHA duly pulled together its Diversity in Racing Steering Group, welcoming applications from ‘anyone with a passion for improving diversity in British racing’.

The exercise resulted in the coming together of a broad cross-section, including broadcasters, journalists, administrators, racecourse and betting operator executives. It soon became obvious that a dedicated resource was necessary to back up this voluntary effort; and it was in November 2018 that Grissell was recruited.

The group’s initial strategy comprises four key areas.

Aside from examining how to ensure that female jockeys have equal opportunity, these are: raising awareness of Diversity and Inclusion issues across the sport, creating a dashboard of key relevant data to be monitored on an ongoing basis and creating an inclusive culture in the sport.

“Strategies for creating an inclusive culture will include engaging the LGBTQ+1 community and considering ethnicity and race”, explains Grissell. “For example, a student taking the Horseracing MBA at Liverpool University is making a start on exploring the underrepresentation of BAME2 people at the races. There is so much more we need to understand. Other sports are slightly further ahead in that area; both the ECB and the FA, for example, have been working hard to include diverse communities”.

The approach in Britain is multi-pronged and begins close to home. Unconscious bias training has been undergone by the BHA Executive team and is hoped to be rolled out further across the organisation. As with other employers, gender pay gap figures are being published by the BHA. There is to be a Diversity and Inclusion Award for the first time at 2019’s Racecourse Association’s Showcase Awards.

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BELOW: Brian Kavanagh welcomes delegates to HRI

50

How will the work of Grissell and the Steering Group be gauged? “Targets will be put in place. Ultimately, success would mean that my job didn’t exist any more!

Being diverse and being inclusive should be part of every aspect of life and business”, says Grissell.

Two central issues bedevil the quest for Diversity and Inclusion. First, that of quantification: How can the current situation best be measured, and how then can progress, or a lack of it, be assessed? The second, that of the ‘how’: Organisations may well be convinced of the benefits and keen to implement, but be unsure of the practical steps to take. An organisation aiming to tackle both these issues is one with which Women in Racing has recently formed a strategic partnership. The All-In Diversity Project, founded in 2017, was formed to promote and measure diversity, inclusion and workplace equality. Increasingly looking beyond the gambling and gaming industries in which it was rooted, All-In has developed the ‘All-Index’, to which member organisations contribute by submitting annual survey responses. The resultant database becomes the primary tool for bench-marking and measuring year-onyear progress and will grow in its value proportionately to the number of organisations participating. In addition, All-In are developing, in conjunction with the BSI Group (latterly better known as the British Standards Institution), an international code of practice aimed at ‘any organisation or any size in any sector that wants to engage with 100% of possible stakeholders, employees and customers’. Expected to be launched in June, it will be interesting to see whether trainers and others in racing find value in this tool-kit.

The dark art of race planning

Those charged with responsibility for putting a country’s race programme together are faced with a complex set

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| EMHF |

BEACH RACECOURSES: START DATES

1828 1845 1868 1882 1902 1957 1972

Plestin-les-Greves, Brittany, France Sanlucar de Barrameda, Andalucia Laytown, Co. Meath, Ireland Plouescat, Brittany, France Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany Loredo, Cantabria, Spain Laredo, Cantabria, Spain

of challenges. What is the optimum number of fixtures?

And the optimum number of races and mix of race types? Should breeders’ and/or owners’ premiums be offered and, if so, on what basis? What percentage of the programme should handicaps represent? What do sellers, claimers, auction and maiden auction races bring to the party? How might field sizes be improved?

How should race clashes be avoided? And, in all of this, they must consider how best to balance the competing interests of the various stakeholders: trainers and owners, racecourses, betting interests, etc.

Perhaps no surprise, then, that EMHF members requested that the most recent in our seminar programme should, for the first time, tackle the subject of race planning.

Of course, the answers to these questions will be very different in those countries with a large number of racecourses from those—such as Hungary or Greece— which boast just the one track. And the options open to a Racing Authority in a country like the Czech Republic, which has no statutory funding at all, will be narrow indeed when compared with those available to a jurisdiction such as Turkey, where the racing industry benefits from a sizeable slug of the nation’s hefty betting turnover.

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10 • 4 • 2 • 1

6/10/19

Prix du Jean Luc Lagardère at ParisLongchamp – 1 Mile ((TTT))

10 • 4 • 2 • 1

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Vertem Futurity at Doncaster – 1 Mile (T)

10 • 4 • 2 • 1

March 2020

Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes at Kempton Park – 1 Mile (AWT) T)

20 • 8 • 4 • 2

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Patton Stakes at Dundalk Stadium – 1 Mile (AWT)

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In August, delegates from Belgium, Czech Rep., Germany, Greece, Hungary, Morocco, Slovakia, Sweden and Turkey gathered for the seminar at the headquarters of Horse Racing Ireland, in Newbridge, County Kildare, where Brian Kavanagh, CEO of the hosts and EMHF Chair, welcomed them.

Race planning experts not only from Ireland but also from France Galop and the British Horseracing Authority, explained the approach adopted in their respective countries. In chairing the discussions, I was struck by the differences in approach and focus, even as between the three presenting Racing Authorities. Quite how central is the Quinte bet to the whole French race programme was a revelation, as was the fact that, uniquely among the countries present, Ireland is not exercised by the issue of maximising field sizes. For Horse Racing Ireland, an overabundance of runners is the greater problem.

Kostas Loukopoulos, racing manager at Greece’s Marcopoulo racecourse, commented: “It was a very successful seminar, not only in terms of the participants but also in terms of the willingness of all members to share their experience and the challenges they face. I strongly believe that it will be in everyone’s best interest if these initiatives continue”.

CLOSED BEACH RACECOURSES: WHEN THEY LAST RACED

1665 1796 1846 1850 1854 1855 1872 1873 1880 1991

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Sandymount Tramore Portmarnock Duncannon Blackrock Strand Skerries Annagassan Termonfeckin Rosslare Strand St Brieuc

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| EMHF |

European Beach Racing Association meets in Spain

Of the seven European thoroughbred beach racetracks, the one in Sanlucar de Barrameda, South-Western Spain, stages by far the highest number of race days. While a single annual fixture is the norm, Sanlucar stages six: in two threeday blocks during August. It was ahead of the opening day of their 2019 season that the European Beach Racing Association held its third annual meeting in the town.

To this first-time visitor, Sanlucar—famed for its Manzanilla sherry—reflects the ‘real Spain’. A popular tourist resort, yes, but the preponderance of holidaymakers are from elsewhere within the country. It is hard to imagine the vast beach ever becoming over-crowded and the town itself, while compact, is warm, buzzy and varied in what it has to offer in the way of food and drink—from pedestrianised pockets of bars and cafes where all the locals seem to hug, to lively seaside tapas bars.

A half-hour drive from Jerez Airport, the town is a manageable walk to and from the temporary grandstand and racecourse structures. The main tent creates a surprisingly large and comfortable space, with a good range of food and drink outlets.

The beach along which the races are run actually borders the Guadalquivir (from the Arabic meaning ‘great river’) as it joins the Atlantic. It offers an essentially straight track extending to distances up to 2,000 metres.

The great majority of the 24 races run annually are open to foreign-trained horses, and European trainers might wish to consider a raid on the Sanlucar races. While owners would not necessarily be particularly tempted by the prize money (prize funds of between Ð4,200 and Ð6,800 on the day we were there), the overall experience is incomparable.

Many may be unaware of the vulnerability of those European thoroughbred beach tracks which exist today, most of which have been staging racing for well over a century. Indeed, the oldest, Plestin-les-Greves, is approaching its bi-centenary. Sadly, many beach tracks have closed.

ABOVE: Opening day of Sanlucar’s Beach Racing Season

Saturday 23 November 2019 RACE

DISTANCE

PRIZE FUND

CLASS

Betfair Exchange Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)

3m 58y

£100000

1

Betfair Steeple Chase (Grade 1)

3m 1f 125y

£200000

1

ENTRY DEADLINE FOR ABOVE RACES

12pm, Tuesday, 5 November

Betfair Handicap Steeple Chase (0-135)

3m 4f 97y

£25000

3

Betfair Exchange Handicap Hurdle

2m 2f 191y

£50000

2

Betfair Handicap Steeple Chase (0-145)

3m 1f 125y

£50000

2

Betfair Newton Novices’ Hurdle (Listed)

1m 7f 144y

£25000

1

Betfair Graduation Steeple Chase

2m 5f 127y

£50000

2

ENTRY DEADLINE FOR ABOVE RACES

12pm, Monday, 18 November

Travel allowances will be paid to overseas runners. For further details, please contact Kirkland Tellwright (Clerk of Course) on +44 7748 181595

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D OW N R O YA L R A CEC OUR SE , T R ADI TI ON R E B OR N Lissa Oliver

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Alamy, Down Royal

| D O W N R OYA L |

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D

own Royal racecourse in Northern Ireland boasts a heritage as regal as its name. They have been racing on the course since the early 18th century—the land originally donated by the first Marquess of Downshire, but its history goes back even further.

In 1685, King James II issued a Royal Charter and formed the Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders. In 1750, King George II donated £100 to run the King’s Plate, a race still run today as one of the summer’s highlights, the 2800m Listed Her Majesty’s Plate. The Ulster Derby, now a premier handicap, is the most valuable Flat race hosted by the track, but Down Royal is best loved for the National Hunt Festival held at the start of November and headlined by the Champion Chase.

Inevitably, a rich history must also include challenges and threats and the racecourse has been no exception.

As recently as last year the course faced the prospect of closure, its operators, Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders, signalling intent to cease operations in October.

Fortunately, owners Merrion Property Group took over the running of the course from January of this year and it has been business as usual.

With a bright new future and lofty ambitions, Manager Emma Meehan is charged with seeing those aims achieved, but the path ahead remains fraught with new challenges, not least the spectre of Brexit. Based in the UK, but under the authority of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), places Down Royal in a tricky position and the timing of the NH Festival opening on 1 November could bring unknown difficulties.

“The impact of any change in the current Tripartite Agreement could create initial difficulties”, Meehan recognises. “We remain in limbo regarding Brexit and continue to communicate with DAERA and the IHRB. We are ready to react to support the passage of runners

Emma Meehan CEO

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and riders to our flagship festival on Friday 1 November and Saturday 2 November and beyond. The landscape is changing daily at British Parliamentary level; a general election could be on the cards very soon. Whatever the outcome, we will adapt to any new requirements and ensure we provide maximum assistance to our owners and trainers”.

Facing the unknown isn’t new territory to Meehan and she joined Down Royal at a particularly difficult time, following a successful 14 years as marketing manager at Dundalk Racing Stadium. “I found the transition in the early stages tumultuous to say the least”, she admits. “I likened it to trying to put a jigsaw puzzle back together again and I had to figure out where pieces were and, indeed, that some individuals were holding some of those pieces behind their backs. It was a challenging phase, but one that I grew from personally.

“Fast-forward to now; nine months on and I have a wonderful team and I couldn’t be happier. The support I have received from Merrion Property Group and their progressive mind-frame has complimented my thinking at all levels. Merrion Property Group have a vision for Down Royal, with racing centric to that vision. We have a five-year investment strategy in the pipeline to bring the facilities, both for the social racegoers and racing fraternity, in line with a Grade 1 track, and modernising in tandem.

I’m very excited about the changes afoot at Down Royal”.

In the modern landscape, investing in a racecourse doesn’t seem the best of ventures, particularly a ‘fixerupper’ in property agent parlance, but Merrion Property Group bought the racecourse as far back as 2006 and saw the end of the lease with the Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders as an opportunity to run its own racingcentred business from the track.

“The overall site and infrastructure at Down Royal are huge. Continuous investment is fundamental to remaining competitive in the industry and providing a best in class environment for owners, trainers, bookmakers, punters and all the services and supports which go into racing”, Meehan explains. “Our aim is to provide memorable and sociable experiences for groups, businesses and sports people, looking to bring together racing, good food and entertainment. Our investment compliments this objective”.

She sees the importance and influence of a community vital and central to the objectives of the new management. “It’s hugely important that the racecourse is the epicentre of the local community, and it’s our intention to embrace the community through several initiatives. Looking ahead to 2020, we are choosing local charities to collect at our gates, ensuring that the

OUR AIM IS TO PROVIDE MEMORABLE AND SOCIABLE EXPERIENCES FOR GROUPS, BUSINESSES AND SPORTS PEOPLE.

| D O W N R OYA L |

ABOVE: Shane Webb

platform and the opportunity to raise monies is directed back to our charitable community partners.

“We have a plethora of flowers used to decorate our hospitality areas during racing, and we have chosen a local residential home to benefit from the flowers post-meeting; a little gesture to help brighten their day. We are also moving to sponsor a local GAA and soccer club and assist in the cross-community programme they have established.

This is just a flavour of our thought process, to which there is more to come. It’s integral to the business that we are at one and giving back to our community”.

Meehan and her team are also conscious that the community of professionals within the racecourse is just as important and she maintains direct contact with the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRTA) and other professional bodies to ensure those at racing’s core are looked after.

“I would be in regular contact with some trainers directly, but on race days it tends to be a casual chat or a commendation from the trainers on the track or operation. Shane Webb, head groundsman, and his team work tirelessly in their preparation of our course ahead of race days; and it’s demonstrated in the level of satisfaction thus far from trainers”.

On the subject of the track, Meehan reveals, “Walking back, rolling, divoting and aeration all form part of our maintenance regime. Weed spraying is a regular occurrence, especially this time of the year. We also regularly use the verti drainer, spiker, mower, fertiliser spreader and sprayer.

Fertiliser use depends upon soil test results. Taking regular monthly soil samples is a good management tool for Shane as it tells him exactly what the soil needs.

“Changing weather patterns can affect the going on the racecourse for the horses very quickly and this is a challenge Shane and his team must be prepared for. This summer has been kind to us, but we need to be ready to adapt to whatever the sky throws at us. The weather is both your best friend and worst enemy”.

As well as Shane Webb, Meehan has a good, strong team in place. “All the staff carry out any of the jobs. All hands in, the more versatile everyone is, the better. Presentation is ranked very highly at Down Royal racecourse, as there is only one chance to make a first impression”.

She takes us through the team who help to ensure a successful raceday, beginning with Sales and Marketing Director Claire Rutherford, who has been integral in taking Down Royal from a zero base in January to 78% growth in hospitality sales and 10% growth on attendance in its first nine months. “I knew Claire, as we had mutual clients in our former roles. She’s a Hillsborough native, and I knew if she was willing, together we could hit the proverbial ground running”.

Susan McCartney is the resident horseracing expert and hospitality manager. “Susan has an experienced over-round of the racing industry and navigates her busy hospitality role wonderfully. At any time there could be 1,200 for dinner; she also puts together the racecards and ISSUE 67 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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Susan McCartney

liaises with the racing Department of HRI, and she is invested in every aspect of the operation.

“Nicola Evans is my operations manager. She leads out with financial planning, management of the Tote, as Down Royal operates our own tote, and cohort of staff.

She also looks after the Health and Safety elements of the business and has been a wonderful support to me at the higher operational levels”.

Jade McAvoy is the newest and youngest joining the team, running the office administration, and she controls the office on race days. “Our office is the radio control centre for the ‘blue lights’ (police, ambulance and welfare services)”, says Meehan, “and a very busy hub regarding customer needs and wants. Jade has been a very welcome addition to what is a busy operation and one set to get busier, with Jade assisting at all levels.

“And then there’s me; feeling very blessed to have all the above as part of the new management at Down Royal. We intend making our mark together”!

The versatility of the team is essential, as a racecourse is a multi-functioning operation. We tend to think only of race days; perhaps conceding that work continues behind the scenes between race meetings. Anything more than that interests neither punter nor professional. Yet, of course, there is an awful lot more than that. A racecourse must operate as a business, and finance is essential.

Meehan explains the various financial sources that are needed to keep the show on the road. “The income streams are media rights, hospitality, gate receipts,

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Claire Rutherford

Nicola Evans

IT’S PARAMOUNT THAT WE DON’T CONTINUE TO SIT ON A ONE-LEGGED STOOL AT DOWN ROYAL AND THAT WE START TO BUILD A PARTHENON OF ACTIVITIES. sponsorships and non-racing activity. Predominantly, media rights provide the lion’s share.

“It’s paramount that we don’t continue to sit on a onelegged stool at Down Royal and that we start to build a Parthenon of activities. A strong business model has revenue injections from other sources, such as increased non-racing activity. If one leg should come off the stool, there will still be supports. It’s important we lay the foundations for the future”.

With a Festival looming, the income boxes are ticked, but there are many more small race days than major days, and Ireland is plagued by what are known as industry days, when only the connections of runners appear to turn up.

“The operational model is the same from a smaller meeting to a bigger meeting”, explains Meehan, “albeit it requires more handling from a health and safety perspective and crowd management; that’s when we reach out to the ‘blue lights’ for additional layers of support”.

Far from being a financial burden, Meehan regards industry days as a bonus. “They are so very important for the industry and therefore welcome. They are televised and, from a commercial perspective, they are beneficial.

However, the media rights monies on days when there’s no additional leverage on revenue streams can just about cover the operational costs. The operational costs versus gross turnover for racing is huge and it’s important that’s realised.

We must work hard and, whilst media monies is perceived as a gift, it’s going towards the running costs to house and welcome the fraternity”.

Whatever the uncertainty of the future, one thing we can be certain of is that warm welcome and ‘home’ to the racing fraternity, and general public, offered by the team at Down Royal, thanks to the enthusiastic guidance of Meehan and her team.

DOWN ROYAL FESTIVAL OF RACING Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd November 2019 – The highlight of the Northern Ireland Racing calendar –

FEATURING: GRADE 1 - Ladbrokes Champion Steeplechase of €140,000 (3m) GRADE 2 - Steeplechase of €50,000 (2m 4f) GRADE 2 - Hurdle of €50,000 (2m) GRADE 3 - Mares Novice Hurdle of €36,500 (2m) CLASS C - H’Cap Hurdle (0-150) of €50,000 Generous travelling allowance for English trained horses.

Contact Susan for more information: Email: susan@downroyal.com OR Tel: 028 92 621 256

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PL AN NI N G A D I AG NO S TI C- L E D

WORM CONTROL PROGRAMME

By Dr Corrine Austin (Austin Davis Biologics) and Prof. Jacqui Matthews (Roslin Technologies)

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A

ll horses are exposed to worms while grazing, but how we control these parasites is essential to horse health and performance. Most horse owners are aware of testing to determine whether their horse needs deworming. The tests comprise faecal worm egg counts (FEC) for redworm/roundworm detection and saliva testing to detect tapeworm infections (standard FEC methods are unreliable for tapeworm). Until now, encysted small redworm larvae have remained undetectable as FEC only determines the presence of egg laying adult worms.

This has meant that routine winter moxidectin treatment has become recommended practice to target potentially life-threatening burdens of small redworm encysted larvae. Excitingly, a new small redworm blood test is being commercialised* which detects all stages of the small redworm life cycle, including the all-important encysted larval phase. Together, these tests offer a complete worm control programme for common horse worms using diagnostic information. This is known as ‘diagnosticled worm control’ (see Figure 1 for common worms in horses). Essentially, testing is used to tell you whether your horse needs deworming or not.

Why should you use testing to determine whether you should use dewormers or not?

Gone are the days of routinely administering dewormers to every horse and hoping for the best.

That strategy is outdated as it has caused widespread drug resistance in worms (i.e. worms are able to survive the killing effects of dewormers and remain in place after treatment, which can lead to disease and in worst cases, death). To reduce the risk of further resistance occurring, we need to ensure that dewormers are only used when they are genuinely needed—when testing detects that horses have a worm burden requiring treatment. Regular testing also helps identify horses likely to be more susceptible to infection and thus at risk of disease in the future.

How to plan your horse’s worm control programme Tapeworm programme Recently published UK vet deworming guidelines states that blood or saliva testing should be conducted to detect tapeworm burdens. The publication states, “The traditional approach, to routinely treat for tapeworms annually or sixmonthly without diagnostic testing, is obsolete.”

“Treatment should only be administered to adult horses in response to positive serum or salivary antibody testing.” Figure 2 highlights that testing should be carried out every six months, preferably during spring and autumn. The saliva test provides a low, borderline or moderate/high diagnosis; and deworming is recommended for horses diagnosed as borderline or moderate/high.

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Redworm and roundworm programme FEC analysis should be carried out for measuring worm egg shedding throughout March to October (Figure 2) for detection of adult redworm (strongyles, including small redworm) and roundworm (ascarids). It is recommended that at least three FEC tests should be conducted to monitor for egg shedding in spring and summer periods. Horses with high egg shedding (e.g., those excreting >200 eggs per gram of dung) should be treated with a dewormer, ideally effective against adult strongyles.

The new small redworm blood test can now be used to detect the presence of small redworm (including encysted larval stages) at a time when previously an annual treatment with moxidectin was recommended. The optimum testing period for these small redworm stages is September to December, but if this is missed, testing should still be considered until April the following year (Figure 2).

Before the small redworm blood test can be carried out, your veterinarian will assess each horse’s risk of small redworm infection. If signs of active infection are evident, such as previous and consistent high FEC results, or is in a high-risk environment (e.g., high herd turnover, high exposure levels and poor paddock management), they may recommend treating with moxidectin without testing. To get your horse blood tested, contact your veterinary practice for advice.

Figure 1: Common horse worms

Figure 2 illustrates a seasonal diagnostic-led worm control programme that can be put in place for most adult horses. Note: Moxidectin is the only licenced drug to effectively kill encysted stages. Although 5-day fenbendazole treatment is licensed to kill encysted stages, there is widespread resistance to this product so without knowing the worm population sensitivity status to this type of dewormer, its use would not be recommended.

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COMMON HORSE WORMS

The most important worms that infect horses are the strongyles (redworms), classified as large and small redworm. Large redworms used to be important as they can cause life-threatening colic, but in the UK, these are now uncommon in adult horses as they are very sensitive to the most widely used dewormers, moxidectin and ivermectin. On the other hand, small redworms (cyathostomins) are extremely common, and most grazing horses are infected. Healthy adult horses usually have low burdens, but when large burdens (several million worms) occur, horses can develop a fatal colitis which is difficult to treat. For this reason, it is important that large burdens of small redworm are avoided. Unfortunately, small redworms are expert at developing resistance to dewormers, so control plans now need to balance the requirement to ensure horses do not build up extreme burdens with the need to preserve dewormer effectiveness. It is especially important to preserve moxidectin dewormer for strategic use against the encysted small redworm larvae that cause lifethreatening disease as this is the only compound that has a high effect against these larvae.

The most common horse tapeworm, Anoplocephala perfoliata, predominantly attaches to the ileocaecal junction in the gut—a narrow section between the small intestine and the caecum, so it is no surprise that large burdens can cause health problems, including significant gut inflammation and blockages, leading to either acute or low-grade recurring colic symptoms.

Roundworms (ascarids) are more common in young stock and can be detected using FEC. As no new dewormers are being developed for horses in the foreseeable future, control plans must aim to maintain horse health whilst protecting the currently effective dewormers. You should work with your veterinary surgeon or a suitably qualified person (SQP) to design and implement an appropriate worm control plan.

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BREXIT REMAINS THE HEAVIEST CLOUD ON THE HORIZON Lissa Oliver

his is now the third update on Brexit we have carried and we could easily reprint i from March 2018; so little has the ffiirst, changed or moved forward. A Allarmingly, l the bleak 2018 predictions from those involved at the highest level have come to bear, yet Britain and the EU have appeared to turn a blind eye to the prospect of a no-deal Brexit until the last possible moment. While we look at the current vi views i and contingency plans of indivi vidual i countries most aff ffected, f it is clear that their problems are shared by all, and a common thread runs throughout.

EEA nationals and UK nationals We all need to be aware of how Brexit w wiill i aff ffect f our freedom of movement and right to live and work throughout Europe and the UK. Any EEA national wi with i ffiive i years continuous residence in the UK can apply for Permanent Residence to protect them from future

T

Edouard Philippe

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Alamy, Shutterstock

legislative changes. Applicants must have been resident and in employment, or self-emplloyment, for fi five years; fiv and it is recommended to apply before the off ffic ffi icial date of Brexit.

There are strong indications th hat the current Common Travel Area of the UK and Irelan nd is likely to remain, to enable Irish nationals to move frreely and work in the UK, but this remains unconfi firmed; i an nd it is recommended that Irish nationals livi ving i and wo orking in the UK apply for Permanent Residence.

The EU has yet to decide how UK nationals livi ving and vin working in the EEA w wiill i be treateed. They may qualify fy for Permanent Residence in the applicable country and are advi vised i to make an applicatio on prior to the UK’s wiithdrawal w i from Europe.

France

The economy of the French equin ne sector is driven by horseracing, sports and leisure, work, and horse meat production. While the sports and d recreation sector is responsible for the majority of ho orses (68%), horseracing has the largest economic impact and fi financial fl fin flow (90%), flo for only 18% of the horse populaation, and wil ill be the most aff ffected f

by Brexit.

The start of the year found Fraance preparing for a disaster scenario, and the vi view i hasn’t softened.

Prime Minister Édouard Philippee has told press, “ The hyp ypothesis p of a Brexit w wiithout i ag greement is less and less improbable. Our responsibiliity is to ensure that our country is ready and to protect th he interests of our fellow citizens.” In January he initiated a no-deal Brexit plan prepared in April 2018. Philippee’ss priority is to protect French expatriate employees and d the British livi ving in vin France in anticipation of the resttoration of border control.

Fishing is considered the busin ness sector most at risk, but Philippe has also looked to protect the thoroughbred industry wi with i a €50m investmen nt in ports and airports, where 700 customs off fffiicers, i veterrinary controllers and

| BREXIT |

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Germany

Ann Linde

Edouard Philippe

other state agents have been added—in the hope of avoiding administrative delays. He told press, “It will be necessary that there are again controls in Calais.”

Dr Paul-Marie Gadot, France Galop, is also working to avoid delays at the border posts. “The political negotiation is still going on, as you know, and as long as it lasts we will not get agreement on the movement of horses. We have prepared for two years, with our Irish and English counterparts, a technical solution— the High Health Horse status—which would allow thoroughbreds and the horses of the Fédération Equestre Internationale to benefit from a lighter control.

“This organisational scheme was presented to the Irish, UK and French Ministries of Agriculture, and we received their support. It was also introduced to the International Office of Epizootics, which is WHO for animals, and it was very favourably received. We have presented it to the European Commission, but we are not getting a favourable answer at this time.

“In the absence of agreement, border control will be put in place. This means for the public authorities and the European Commission the implementation of ‘Border Inspection Posts’ with the ability to process movements. Our departments are very aware that this situation will be very difficult to manage without endangering the economic activity and the well-being of horses. We are working on palliative solutions, but I strongly fear that the situation is unmanageable.”

Gadot points out there are 25,000 horse movements per year between Ireland, the UK and France, and any hindering of these movements would be a blow to international racing and participation and to the breeding industry. Any challenge to the current freedom of movement could also threaten sales companies such as Arqana, where Irish and Britishbred horses are catalogued, and Irish and British buyers are active.

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The Haile Institute for Economic Research reveals that a hard Brexit will hit employment in Germany the hardest, with an estimated loss of 102,900 jobs; although that is just 0.24% of the country’s total employment figure. With its thoroughbred industry barely figuring in any economic impact, it is little wonder that Germany’s sport-related concerns focus on football. But the issues facing Britain’s Premiership are similar to racing’s problems and also heavily tied to Ireland.

Currently, as per EU law, Britain’s Premier League clubs are allowed to have as many EU players in a team as they wish, but a minimum of eight players in a 25-player team must be British. Elsewhere, Portugal limits non-EU players to just three per top flight team, with none allowed in the lower leagues. Italy also has restrictive rules on the purchase of non-EU players. If German football managers are concerned by the effect Brexit will have on the transfer market, how worried should British trainers be at the prospect of similarly curtailed recruitment?

And the concerns of German trainers? These are not being highlighted by the general press or by the government, but German racing and breeding are fairly self-contained and self-sufficient. How many British and Irish-bred horses are catalogued at the BBAG, however, and what percentage sell to Britain and Ireland? Ireland may still be in the EU, but its landbridge will not be come October.

At the 2019 BBAG Yearling Sale, five British-bred yearlings were catalogued and 18 Irish-bred—four of which were offered by an Irish agent. The top five lots at the 2018 sale were purchased by Godolphin, Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock and Meridian Bloodstock; and the sixth highest-priced yearling was foaled in the UK, as was the ninth in the listings. Fetching €110,000 and €100,000 further down the list were two Irish-foaled colts, both bought by German agents. The marketplace is cosmopolitan, and no market can afford to lose two supplier links or two buyer links.

Dr Paul-Marie Gadot

| BREXIT |

Sweden

Simon Coveney

Swedish trade minister Ann Linde warns that a no-deal Brexit could have major implications for the country, which has a prosperous trading relationship with Britain.

“The big companies have the possibility to analyse what is happening and prepare themselves, but there are too many small and medium-sized companies which have not fully prepared,” she points out. The Swedish National Board of Trade has sent out checklists to companies to work through to understand the consequences of a no-deal Brexit.

Linde is also concerned for the futures of 100,000 Swedes living in Britain and 30,000 Britons living in Sweden. Hans Dahlgren, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, fears it is unclear how the new British government will treat EU citizens who want to move to the UK for work after 31 October. “The previous British government had made some openings for people coming to the UK after Brexit, and those statements have not yet been endorsed by the new government,” he said.

Ireland

The Irish Government and EU leaders are adamant there will be no discussions with the UK on how to manage a no-deal on the Republic/Northern Ireland border until after the UK has left the EU, senior sources in Dublin and Brussels recently revealed to the media. No-deal preparations are considered a unilateral EU matter.

Infrastructure, staffing and ICT systems at Irish ports and airports have already been put in place to manage the necessary checks and controls on East-West trade with post-Brexit UK. Work at Dublin Port involved nine projects across eight sites to deliver 13 new inspection bays, documentary and identity check facilities, office facilities and parking for up to 128 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Four hundred additional Revenue staff have been recruited and trained for customs facilitation and checks—nearly 190 Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) staff trained and in place to conduct import controls, and 59 additional Health Service Executive (HSE) staff trained and in place.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney TD, says, “Work on Brexit preparations has the

Heather Humphreyss

highest priority across government, particularly as the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit increases. A no-deal Brexit would have profound implications for Ireland on all levels. If anyone is concerned about Brexit and the impact it may have, go to www.gov.ie/.”

The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, advises, “One of the most practical steps businesses who trade with the UK can take is ensuring they have a customs registration, known as an EORI number—the first step in being able to trade with the UK post-Brexit.”

Heather Humphreys TD, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, further advises, “We are encouraging exporters and importers to check to see if their suppliers use the UK as a landbridge and to review their supply chain. Businesses should also be aware of whether they rely on products or services that are certified for compliance with EU standards by a UK body.

“I am acutely aware that many businesses will be dealing with customs for the first time. We recently launched the Clear Customs initiative to help Irish businesses trading with or through the UK in preparing

Paschal Donohoe

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for new customs formalities arising from Brexit. It offers eligible customs agents, customs intermediaries and affected businesses a free training programme. Additional support of €6,000 per trainee will be available to participating eligible companies to assist with the costs of recruiting and assigning new staff to undertake training and take up new customs roles.”

The Haile Institute for Economic Research estimates a loss of 19,800 jobs in Ireland in the event of a hard Brexit—a low figure in comparison to other EU neighbours—but topping the list considerably as 1.03% of the total share of employment.

Britain

The British Racing and Breeding industries, represented by the Thoroughbred Industries Brexit Steering Group, report productive discussions with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and are encouraged by the level of no-deal planning in place.

An online hub to provide guidance for the racing industry has been set up on the BHA website (www.britishhorseracing.com/regulation/brexit/), collating industry-relevant information, which is regularly updated as further advice from government departments becomes available.

Updates include the EU Commission’s recently published Contingency Action Plan stating, “On the basis of the EU veterinary legislation, the Commission will swiftly list the UK as a third country, if all applicable conditions are fulfilled, so as to allow the entry of live animals and animal products from the UK into the EU.” The Tripartite Agreement will of course no longer be valid when the UK leaves. The EU’s TRACES (Trade Control and Expert System) will also become invalid.

A new system IPAFFS, which will then be replaced

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| BREXIT |

following Brexit, is to be used to notify authorities when importing horses from the EU. There was significant concern within the thoroughbred industry regarding transporters, but the EU Commission published proposals that would allow UK hauliers to continue carrying goods into the EU until the end of 2019 if there is no deal, without the need for an ECMT permit.

The UK Government has welcomed the proposal and intends to reciprocate.

Weatherbys has lodged an application for the General Stud Book to be recognised by the EU Commission and to be added to its list of breeding bodies. In requesting a listing, Weatherbys agrees to respect the legal right of entry in the General Stud Book of thoroughbreds from stud books in EU Member States.

One of the greatest concerns surrounds EU staff working throughout the industry, and the British Government has a website (www.gov.uk/settled-status-eucitizens-families) outlining details of the EU Settlement Scheme for EU citizens and their families to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021, with either settled or pre-settled status. Currently, 11% of the 17,000 people working in the horse industry in the UK are Europeans— half of whom are Irish. Those who are already present will have the right to stay.

Deloitte—a leading global provider of audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and related services—believes Brexit will cause problems for expatriate employees. It will be necessary to rethink contracts, revise social coverages and to consider immigration statuses. The company also raised the question of bookmakers, with almost 50% bets placed online and several betting firms registered in Gibraltar.

Deloitte warns that unless they register in the EU they will be denied access to the European marketplace.

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RAC IN G G R O O M – T H E . C O M N E E D ED B Y E VE RY C O U N T RY Lissa Oliver Caroline Norris, Martin Lole

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ou would think that racehorses bring more than their fair share of issues to a stable, but more often than not they are the simplest aspect of the job of training. They don’t look after themselves, however, and that’s where it gets complicated. Shortage of staff and the difficulties of staff retention are subjects we have dealt with in almost every issue, and the problem isn’t going away.

Part of the problem could be the image the racing industry presents of itself and the perceived lack of career progression; even trainers are sometimes unaware of the many and varied skill sets within their staff. Fortunately for the UK, this problem is now being addressed and hopefully rectified over the coming years, with the aid of an innovative new website

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originated, created and funded jointly by the National Trainers Federation (NTF) and the Racing Foundation.

In the UK, Shelley Perham is the National Trainers Federation’s (NTF) consultant for Recruitment and Retention of Racing Staff and explains the reasoning behind racinggroom.com. “Racing Groom started as a mind map to pull together all the fragmented pieces of information from various stakeholders who offer services of support to racing grooms.

“When I googled ‘how to become a soldier’, there was an in-depth amount of content to help at the moment of decision making. I googled ‘how to become a racing groom’, and it only led to the job boards and training providers. From the trained eye, there was no proper job description or anything to inspire a young person to look further at a career as a racing groom”.

| RACING GROOM |

Things have moved on significantly now, however, and the current career advice given is impressive, Perham points out. “There is a huge package of support and benefits which accompanies the job and I wanted to pull it all together in one place so we could demonstrate that there was no better time to work in racing”.

Perham’s background is showing and competing, and she recognised the benefits and support offered by racing are vastly different to that which grooms are offered in other equine disciplines, “but at that time we weren’t shouting from the rooftops about it”.

The racinggroom.com hub came about after Perham looked at her daughters’ university portal, where students can log in to find out what is happening on campus, access discounts and read content relevant to their studies. “We don’t have a staff intranet, and the NTF sends out important notices to trainers which may not always pass down the line to staff. I wanted to help staff feel empowered, recognised and valued, so providing industry news direct to them seemed to be a logical step”.

When Perham started the role of consultant to the NTF, her first question was ‘what had happened to all the racing grooms who had left the industry’? There was no database which could be used to contact former grooms to inform them that things had changed since they had left, or to run a survey to ask why they left. It seemed logical to her for the NTF to start its own database where we could communicate with staff.

“We are dealing with over 4,000 racing grooms, which is a decent number to ask suppliers and businesses to make

offers of discounts on products that racing grooms use on a day-to-day basis. The ambition is to have all racing grooms in the UK registered as members, then we can start approaching companies to offer staff discounts and rewards”.

It was a very ambitious idea, to say the least, and finding a website agency able to deliver was the first step, but once sourced, the project happened quite quickly in just over 18 months from that original mind map to launch.

“Stakeholders were naturally guarded and protective of the services which they provided; they were also wary that we would confuse the message”, Perham reflects.

“It took some time to get their trust and cooperation to understand that the website is a portal through to their products and services. A one-stop shop”.

All of this was new to Perham, who describes herself as “a complete technophobe”, but the biggest challenge was pulling together all the information on training and funding and services which stakeholders offered, particularly as it was constantly changing and content had to be chased.

“The members and council of the NTF backed and supported me, and the Racing Foundation were extremely supportive and held my hand through the funding application. It is very straightforward to run: we update the website and hub as necessary”, says Perham “What is not as easy as I had imagined is encouraging staff to sign up to the hub. It’s free, and it is their place to access a variety of different offers and training details.

The Matty Bachelor ‘Welcome to Racing’ video which we created should help to encourage sign up, if shown to new employees by trainers at the point of induction”.

The feedback has been extremely encouraging, especially from the two racing schools, who are now using the content during student training. Equine colleges have been very complimentary and use the website to educate students on what’s on offer in racing. Racing To School has also found it helpful when delivering presentations to equine students who are looking to get into the industry.

The investment, which was divided equally between the NTF and the Racing Foundation, is already reaping benefits. “Recently an equine recruitment agency rang me

BELOW: Shelley Perham is the National Trainers Federation’s (NTF) consultant for Recruitment and Retention of Racing Staff.

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to discuss how we could work together”, Perham reveals.

“Despite having a database of over 4,000 grooms looking for jobs, they had no knowledge of racing. They were really excited and appreciative of the content we provide, which they make available to their grooms looking to make the transition into racing.

“The CV builder and trainer locator has been a huge benefit to members who are looking for jobs, as not all trainers advertise their vacancies. We encourage members to send a speculative application and give them the tools to do so”.

Perham lists other benefits to the free membership for grooms already working in racing. “When I started the hub, I asked staff to explain their understanding of the support package. Some knew that when they had an injury there was an accident benefit scheme but did not know its name (RIABS). Some said they were unsure of what their employment rights were and didn’t like to ask at the interview for fear of being focused on the wrong things.

“All employment policies are posted on the hub.

Training pathways and opportunities are updated, and should members find themselves out of work they can use the CV builder and trainer locator to apply for another job. We have spent vast amounts on training staff and want to retain them in the industry, therefore providing support for them to find another job is vital. We feature a trainer of the month who has current vacancies and deliver relevant news items monthly through a newsletter.

A new racecourse access badge scheme with courses run by the Arena Racing Company (ARC) entitles staff who are members of the site access for themselves, their friends and family to four race meetings per year. It is hoped this might be extended beyond ARC racecourses, and Racing Groom has other discounts available from saddlers and clothing providers—an area building all the time.

Perham also works with Racing To School, and when visiting schools she tells us, “Students are not aware of the benefits and the package involved in racing. When I am

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| RACING GROOM |

delivering a presentation, I ask the students how many are interested in getting into racing, and only a few show their interest. The myth about racing’s long hours and bad pay seems to have been passed down. They often say that this is what is prohibiting them from wanting to work in racing. After they have heard about the package and looked through the website, I have had over half of the group interested in getting into the sport”.

In this, Perham has a great advantage—able to meet and mix with the younger people who will hopefully make up our future workforce. They have been termed ‘Generation Z’, and if we’re not familiar with that term, many of us are equally unfamiliar with their generation.

“I’m not sure that those without young children of their own are aware, especially when we are seeing so many young people struggling to overcome learning difficulties and mental health issues”, Perham points out. “I am working with young people all the time and quite shocked when I hear the difficulties that teachers are experiencing in the classroom. It would be really helpful to give them more guidance and some of the tools, which I have learnt during my time with Racing To School and the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, to be able to work well together and for it to be a mutually beneficial working experience.

“The Lycetts Team Champion Award and Industry

Standard has started to make an impact, as it acknowledges and rewards employers with the highest management training practises, which benefit the employee and the team. This year we are including marks for safeguarding, diversity and leadership skills.

“But it’s not all one-way traffic. Young people also have a responsibility to be a little more resilient and work-ready.

They need to understand what is required of them and learn how to cope with the requirements of the working world. There are so many opportunities and funding for training in racing for those that are prepared to work for it”.

That said, it’s important for employers to fully understand the changing needs of the modern workforce and its need for challenges, motivation and progression.

Perham acknowledges this and explains, “Generation Z want to understand how they can make a difference; they want to be challenged and included in decision making.

They are loyal to those employers who show them the same loyalty and allow them to grow and improve.

“They come from an age where everything in life is ‘customisable’, and they want that same flexibility in the workplace. A big challenge will be for trainers to explore ways in which to provide this working environment when dealing with horses who require constant care and attention.

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“Within the Lycetts Team Champion Award we reward employers who take time to do a complete stocktake of their employee management practices and to understand the individual needs of their staff, and how they work and support each other as a team. Through the LTC Award many trainers are now aware of, and adopting, a skills matrix to develop their staff and demonstrate progression.

“During the NTF’s management training modules, what employers found most useful was the ‘People Performance Potential’ model used for assessing teams and identifying development, direction and aims. This model helps employers identify how to move staff who are currently considered as the backbone into Star performers, whilst rewarding those without the same ambition to grow and who are happy to remain backbone. Another useful tool is the ‘Performance Management Model’, which details the successful path for retention from the initial recruitment through to feedback, helping to improve and reward and promote recognition”.

All of which sounds like the ideal modern solution for an industry that hasn’t always been noted for selfpromotion. Yet age-old problems still remain and not everything can be found at a one-stop shop. Perham looks beyond racinggroom.com when she acknowledges new staff will still require physical help, support and training.

“I do believe the racing schools are the right place to learn to ride, but we can’t expect students to leave as

the finished product, employers then have to hone and complete their training. I would love to see ‘Academy’ trainers setting up, who have the facilities to teach staff and send them off to other yards. They would benefit from a constant supply of new recruits and the industry would benefit from ‘work-ready’ staff being trained on the shop floor in a pressurised working environment.

“Point-to-point yards and permit holders could really do with more support to train staff, as they have more time and are less pressurised. People like Gary Witheford could train staff, but there isn’t currently the funding. Grace Muir is doing a good job at HEROS—the charity for a new life after racing, and getting students riding, but more needs to be done in this area as the racing schools are not a fit for everyone”.

That is another job for another day and something trainers themselves need to take the initiative for. Right now in the UK, racinggroom.com is leading the way in helping to resolve the staffing crisis.

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Our publications reach breeders, owners & trainers on both sides of the Atlantic. +44 ( 0 )1380 816777 +353 ( 0 )41 971 2000 www.anderson-co.com

| NUTRITION |

Prof. John O Hunter Alamy, Luca Cumani

HOW THE DIGESTION OF NUTRIENTS MAY IMPROVE HORSES’ OVERALL CONDITION

T

he importance of breeding and training are well established, but there are many differences in the way yards prepare their horses. For several years our group—a trainer, a vet, and a physician specialising in nutrition and the gut—have been working to see if we could improve equine health and performance using a scientific approach.

The aim has been to explore ways in which the biochemistry underlying the digestion of nutrients might improve horses’ overall condition. In some cases this involved applying developments in the field of human nutrition to horses. In others we have tackled wellestablished problems within equine physiology.

promoting glucose absorption, and potentially increasing the energy available for high-speed exertion. However, not all athletes appear to benefit, and there had been no study so far on the effect of beetroot juice in horses.

Twenty racehorses (colts and geldings) in full training were divided into two groups. All were fed their standard diets. One group received beetroot juice with a sweetener to mask the taste and the other a sweetener only for four weeks. After four weeks, nitrate levels in the blood were measured and compared to the starting levels. The level of nitrate rose very slightly in the test group, but no change in performance or condition was noted in any of the horses. Beetroot juice does not seem to help horses.

Beetroot juice supplementation

Vitamin B12 is important, not only for preventing anaemia and maintaining the health of the nervous system, but also because it produces enzymes which are crucial for allowing the entry of nutrients into the biochemical cycles producing the main source of energy in both man and horse: ATP. In

Beetroot is a rich source of nitrate and is frequently taken by athletes to improve their performance. Nitrate produces nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels, thus reducing blood pressure, increasing blood supply and

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Vitamin B12

| DIGESTIVE ENZYME SUPPLEMENTATION |

showed that this initial increase had disappeared. Overall there was no difference between the blood levels of B12 at the end of season compared to the beginning. Changes in B12 concentration, however, did not affect performance.

The trainer, who was not informed which horses had received B12 supplements, considered that 8 horses had improved and 12 had not. These were equally distributed between the two treatment groups, and those considered to have improved did not have higher levels of B12.

Thus, despite previous anxieties, racehorses on standard diets have normal B12 levels which remain satisfactory throughout the season. Supplementary injections increase blood concentrations temporarily, but there was no correlation between blood B12 concentration and performance.

Digestive enzyme supplementation

The investigation into the role of digestive enzyme supplements began during a conversation between vets and a medic in the Jockey Club Rooms. ‘Do horses get irritable bowel syndrome?’ This led to a search for information on horses’ digestion in the university library revealing that as horses had evolved to graze on pasture grasses containing little starch, their pancreas secreted very low levels of the enzymes required to digest it. Race horses require much more energy to sustain active training, but it is well known that excess starch can lead to all manner of problems— acidity, endotoxaemia, colic and even death.

It was decided to try supplementing racehorses with digestive enzymes to see if this improved their performance.

Germinating barley generates hydrolytic enzymes to allow the growing plant access to the nutrients stored in the barley grain. These enzymes are usually destroyed by heating when malt is produced for human food, but cold-processing allows the enzymes to remain active. The enzymes are contained as an extract in a liquid organic matrix which allows them to survive acid immersion in the stomach and remain active in the small intestine.

The most important of these enzymes is amylase, which breaks starch down into sugars. In horses, the amount of amylase secreted by the pancreas is insufficient to allow

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BELOW: Effect of enzyme-rich malt extract on faecal acetate excretion in 8 racehorses.

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ACETIC ACID

humans, B12 is derived from eating meat, fish and dairy products. Horses and other herbivores, obtain their vitamin B12 by ingestion of cobalt from pasture which is then used by intestinal microorganisms to form the vitamin.

As racehorses are rarely turned out on pasture, most feed concentrates are supplemented with B12.

‘As the intensity of work increases, the composition of the diet and the amount of food consumed change as a consequence of the increased consumption of starchy cereal grains. This will alter not only the dietary supply of B vitamins but also the intestinal synthesis…and it is an open question whether the rate of their absorption is exceeded by tissue demand when horses are in intensive training’ (Frape, 2010, p250).

The amount of soluble carbohydrate in the diet of the racehorse must be carefully regulated. ‘Racehorses on a high-concentrate/low-roughage diet and little access to grazing are to some degree already on a metabolic knifeedge’ (Ramzan, 2014, p258).

The trainer was concerned that a number of horses in his yard were below par from the start of the Flat season as their appearance and performance were disappointing.

Their diet was unchanged, but they ate poorly and failed to regain weight after racing. Veterinary investigations, including full blood screening, failed to reveal any cause.

As lethargy and early fatigue are two of the earliest symptoms of B12 deficiency in man, it was decided also to check the B12 status of the horses affected.

Twenty racehorses, which were out of condition, were identified and divided into two groups. Blood samples were taken, and B12 levels were recorded. One group was supplemented with B12 injections at 3mg twice weekly for three weeks (18mg in total). The other group acted as controls. At the end of that time, the horses’ condition was reassessed by the trainer on his return from a week’s absence.

The concentration of vitamin B12 in the 20 horses was found to lie within the normal range and was slightly greater than that found in healthy yearlings on pasture at a local stud. After B12 injections, the level rose significantly. A further determination later in the season

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yard on the extract. The maltsters agreed to dilute this from 80% solids to 65% solids, making it less viscous and easier to feed to over 100 horses twice daily.

Horses’ performance appeared to improve overall so that after three years, it was decided to put racing results to formal examination by an independent outside assessor.

AVERAGE OF INDIVIDUAL MAXIMUM TIMEFORM RATING 92

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88

86

84

82

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RIGHT: Changes in maximum Timeform rating before malt extract (2010-2012) and after its introduction (2013-2015).

ABOVE: Before feeding with enzyme-rich malt extract.

TF RATING

complete digestion of all of the dietary carbohydrate, leaving residues which pass undigested into the large bowel. Here, together with fibre from grass and hay, they are fermented by the micro-organisms found there (known as the microbiome). In excess this may result in the production of toxic chemicals such as D-lactate, ammonia, alcohols, acetaldehyde and hydrogen sulphide, which all may promote disease.

An enzyme-rich malt extract was prepared for us by local maltsters. We fed it to eight horses in full training and took stool samples to follow its effect on fermentation by the microbiome. The extract contains maltose, and horses love its taste; so it has proved a good way of encouraging finicky feeders.

Racehorses on high-energy diets usually have irregular bowel function, but one of the first changes noted was that this became quite regular after starting the extract. Furthermore, biochemical testing showed that the microbiome was functioning smoothly. The main nutrient produced by microbial fermentation of fibre in the large intestine is acetate, which provides nearly 80% of a horse’s energy requirements. The level of acetate in the stools fell dramatically (Fig 1) showing that this key nutrient was not being lost in the stools but absorbed into the body virtually completely.

Unsurprisingly, increased intake of energy led to improvements in condition—the horses maintained weight, their coats improved, and they were more sprightly on the gallops. (Figs 2 & 3) The improvement was so apparent that the trainer decided to start his whole

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For this, the assessor took the individual maximum annual Timeform Performance Ratings for all horses in the yard, with the lower limit bounded at 35 during three years on the extract—compared to the three preceding years. The survey was restricted to racing in Britain and Ireland. There was a clear difference between the levels before supplementation (average 83.0 across three years) and afterwards (average 89.2). (Fig 4) Timeform performance average in British yards is about 72, so this was an over-performing yard to begin with.

However, it went from over-performing by 11lbs before supplementation to over-performing by more than 17lbs afterwards; and the effect was seen immediately. As an indication of what these figures might mean in practical terms, a Timeform Performance Rating of 83 would have won 59.5% of maidens in Britain and Ireland in 2016, while one of 89.2 would have won 87.3% of such races.

The improved condition of the horses was emphasized by the fact that they were able to run more frequently.

Although the number of horses in the yard was little changed, between 2005-12 the mean number of entries was 155, which rose significantly to 211 in 2013-4.

In another yard, a three-month controlled trial of the extract again showed that it reduced the stool content of acetate—indeed the fall in acetate was directly

FIG

5

ABOVE: Effect of enzyme-rich malt extract on racehorse condition fed for 3 months.

BELOW: Beneficial effects of changes to the microbiome after malt extract; each organism increased 4to 5-fold.

Micro-organism

Beneficial effect produced

Veillonella

Convert L-lactic acid to propionate to combat fatigue

Ruminococcus

Increase digestion of fibre in intestine releasing energy

Bacteriodales

Combat metabolic syndrome

proportional to racing performance. The control group had 18% winners during the test period and 17% during the following three months. The test group enjoyed 44% winners on malt extract, but which fell to 11% after malt extract was stopped.

Our studies of the horses’ biochemistry showed two other reasons for this improvement, apart from the reduction of undigested starch reaching the large intestine. One was the increased amount of energy derived from the diet, reducing the need for energy from the tissue breakdown during exercise which leads to prolonged recovery. The second was that analysis of the microbiome showed a four- to five-fold increase in beneficial bacteria. (Fig 5) Enzyme-rich malt extract appears to be a beneficial food supplement for racehorses.

Further Reading 1. Proudman C, Hunter JO, et al. Characterisation of the faecal metabolome and microbiome of Thoroughbred racehorses.

Equine Veterinary Journal; 10 1-6; 2014.

2. Hunter JO. Do horses suffer from IBS? Equine Veterinary Journal; 41 836-40; 2009.

3. Hunter JO, Turner C, Waring RH, Batty C, Ramzan PHL. Nitrate Supplementation in thoroughbred racehorses: Addition of beetroot juice to the equine diet and effects on the gut metabolome. Integr Food Nutr Metabl; 2019, doi: 10.15761/ IFNM.1000246.

4. Snalune KL, Hunter JO, Waring RH, Cauchi M, Batty C. Modulation of the equine microbiome by pasture and feed supplements: A metabolomics approach. Integr Food Nutr Metab; 2019, doi: 10.15761/IFMN.1000247.

5. Ramzan PHL. The Racehorse (a veterinary manual). CRC Press, Boca Raton FL; 2014; p258.

6. Equine Nutrition and Feeding (4th Edition). Frape D. Wiley Blackwell; 2010; p79-80.

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It contains the primary nutrients that horses are usually missing, if fed on a standard diet of grasses, hay and grains. Made with a rich combination of meadow plants, herbs, seeds and sea algae, every measuring cup is packed with essential nutrients such as amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and trace elements. The Diamond Digestive Formula guarantees all ingredients can effectively be used by the horse. Diamond Hoof & Horse Formula meets FEI and racing regulations.

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FEEDING THE BEST – HIGHCLERE CASTLE HORSE FEED “Give a horse what he needs and he will give you his heart in return”. It is impossible to overstate how important it is to feed horses the best foods in terms of quality and balance to ensure everything is there to aid growth and general well-being.

During the winter as grass provides fewer nutrients, the feeding must promote good digestibility, warmth condition and thus help build strength and bone density ready to continue best development when the grass returns in the spring. Natural foods, and above all oats, provide excellent digestibility and are the “safest” grain to feed horses because their starch is more easily digested in the horse’s small intestine with the highest fibre content (13%) and lowest energy of all the grains. The palatability even makes oats the grain of choice for fussy eaters.

Haylage has higher digestibility than hay and, therefore, you may need less supplementary feed. It is moist without the dust or spores found in hay and, therefore, is excellent for horses with allergies or respiratory problems. Haylage has good vitamin content compared to hay as it has not been “baked out” by the sun. Haylage is, therefore, much closer to the horse’s natural diet of grass, both in texture and nutritional value.

Natural foods can aid the prevention of ulcers; the bruised, rolled and clipped oats (which we soak before feeding), combined with a sugar beet pulp and damp alfalfa ensures that the horse’s digestion is more easily able to absorb the nutrients from the gut. Oats contain more soluble fibre than any other grain, resulting in slower digestion which again helps prevent ulcers. ● For further information please visit www.highclerecastlehorsefeeds.co.uk or call +44 (0)1635 250600.

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